Ash Strikes Back
by jmoul18
Summary: An Ash Betrayal Story. Takes place after Ash loses in the Kalos League finals. Gets a chance for revenge against his former friends ten years later at Scott's Pokémon World Tournament.
1. Chapter 1

Ash Strikes Back

** Hey everybody, this is my first Ash betrayal story, which have recently become my favorite stories on this site. I'm going to be pairing Ash and Dawn mostly because I feel like those two had the closest relationship in the anime. Let me know in the reviews where I can improve and make requests on what should happen next.**

**Legal Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Pokémon.**

**Ash – 26**

**May – 25**

**Max – 21**

**Tracey – 25 (won't play a big role in this)**

**Misty – 26**

**Brock – 27**

**Paul – 26**

**Gary – 26**

**Serena – 26**

**Dawn – 25**

**Trip – 22**

**Iris – 23**

**Cilan – 28**

"speech" – talking

"Speech" - thoughts

_Speech_ – writing

"**Speech"** – Aura speech

_The Flashback, and the Invitation_

A young man stood atop Mt. Silver, enduring the harshest of windstorms that had yet hit the area. He wore a black hooded cloak that resembled a Zoroark based on its color. On his shoulder was his most trusted companion, Pikachu, a yellow electric mouse. The two had been together for fifteen years now, but for the last ten, it had been only them and the rest of the man's Pokémon. Pikachu could sense something was troubling his friend and trainer, who is none other than Ash Ketchum.

"Pikapi, Pikachu?" Pikachu asked, his concern evident. While most people didn't understand a word of what Pokémon said, Ash had learned how to use Aura to understand Pokémon speech.

"Sorry Pikachu, I just realized that it has been ten years exactly since _that _day," he said. Pikachu immediately knew what his trainer was thinking. It was the day that had caused his best friend to change from a joyful trainer without a care in the world, other than his Pokémon, his friends, and his dream of becoming the greatest trainer in history. In the place of that person, there was a cold, calculating man. While Ash never once stopped caring for his Pokémon like they were his family, he no longer tried to communicate with any humans other than a select few. Just the mention of that day caused Pikachu to fall into his own memories.

_*Flashback 10 years*_

Ash was excited to finally be coming back to Kanto after having traveled through the Kalos Region for almost a year now. Although he had lost in the finals to a Trainer named Calem from Vaniville Town, he wasn't sad about his loss. He had gotten to the final round, and they had both been down to their final Pokémon, and it had come down to a final stare-down between his Greninja and Calem's Sylveon, his Greninja just fell sooner. He knew that the next time he went through a Pokémon League, he would win for sure.

Aside from his competing, it was his sixteenth birthday, and Ash couldn't wait to see his mother again. He and Pikachu had just crested the last hill before they could see Pallet town, which hadn't changed at all since he last saw it. "Race you there Pikachu!" Ash said to his Pokémon, who immediately leapt off of Ash's shoulder and began sprinting toward the Ketchum residence. Ash followed suit.

The two were neck and neck when they crossed the fence surrounding Ash's house. Mr.

Mime was out front, sweeping the steps happily with its back turned to Ash. "Pika!" called Pikachu. Mr. Mime turned toward Ash and Pikachu and was elated to see the two after so long.

"Mr. Mime!" it said cheerfully as it hugged Ash to welcome him back.

"It's great to see you too Mr. Mime! Come on, let's go inside and see Mom," Ash said. They went in and were immediately crushed in a hug from Delia Ketchum.

"Welcome home, and Happy Birthday Ash! I can't believe how much you've grown!" she said, just like all mothers do. "Your friends are all here, they seemed really excited about seeing you." Ash was both surprised and ecstatic, knowing that his friends would be here for his birthday celebration. He couldn't have been more wrong.

As he entered his living room, Ash was shocked to find out that all of his friends were there, with the exception of Clemont and Bonnie, who had responsibilities at their Gym. There was Misty, Brock, Tracey, Gary, May, Max, Drew, Dawn, Paul, Cilan, Iris, Trip, and Serena. He was expecting them to greet him happily, but instead, he got glares from all of them. "What's going on guys? It's been way too long since our last meet-"

"Shut up, you worthless piece of shit!" yelled Paul.

Ash thought at first this was just Paul pulling his leg, but then Misty stepped forward. "Ash, we watched your match at the Kalos League, and we've all agreed that we want you gone. You are a pathetic trainer who will never accomplish anything, and you are always running head-on into danger. That's why we all think you should give up your dream."

Ash felt like he had just been stabbed through the heart. He looked around the room and saw that all of his "friends" had the same, hateful expression on their faces. "And you all feel this way?" Ash asked, holding on to that last shred of hope that they were not being serious, or that he still had some friends.

This hope was crushed when the entire group said a resounding "YES!" Ash had tears in his eyes. Brock then came forward. "Ash, you aren't a good Pokémon trainer and you never will be. Accept that!"

"FUCK ALL OF YOU, I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS. I AM GOING TO PROVE ALL OF YOU WRONG, JUST WAIT AND SEE!" Ash yelled, tears falling freely as he ran from his house and toward Professor Oak's lab. On his way out, he didn't notice that Dawn was crying silently.

"I'm so sorry, Ash. I didn't mean it," Dawn thought.

Upon arriving at the Professor's lab, Ash knocked on the door loudly. "Professor Oak, open up! I need your help." The professor opened the door within minutes and was surprised to see Ash.

"Hello there Ash, how was Kalos?" he asked.

"I'll tell you all about it, but let me in, I need your help." The professor allowed Ash to enter, sensing that something was seriously wrong. Ash told him about Kalos and showed him the Pokémon he had captured. Then, Ash told Oak about what had just transpired with his 'friends,' and at this point, Professor Oak listened intently. "Well Ash, that is a serious problem. Have you decided what you will do about it?" he asked.

"I'm going to travel the world and train in my Pokémon in solitude. I intend to prove all of them wrong," said Ash, fire clear in his eyes.

"That sounds like a good strategy, but before you go, let me see your Pokédex for a moment." The Professor took Ash's Pokédex to a computer, plugged it in, typed for a few seconds, and then came back. "Here you go Ash. I've modified your Pokédex to allow you to carry an unlimited amount of Pokémon."

"Thank you Professor Oak. Also, don't worry if you don't hear from me for a while. I swear that I will be back. In the meantime, keep a lookout for a trainer named Satoshi." With that, Ash recalled all of his Pokémon except his Charizard and was about to depart when he heard the shriek of a Pidgeot. He looked up and not only did he see his Pidgeot, he also saw a Butterfree that had a yellow bandana around its neck. They both tackled him, happy to see their trainer again, and Ash was more than happy that his first two Pokémon had come back to him. He had them return to their Pokéballs, which Professor Oak had kept in his lab just in case, and then departed.

They started off by going to every region and getting back Ash's Pokémon who had stayed with others to train, and those that he had befriended without capturing along the way. They finally settled on Mt. Silver, where they stayed to train, only leaving in order to get food or medical supplies.

_*Flashback ended*_

Pikachu couldn't help but feel terribly sad when he thought about that day. Ash not only increased the strain of his training, he also learned how to master his aura powers and had gone on to win in the Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos regions (under the name Satoshi). Shortly after his victory in Kalos, Ash's mother was killed by Team Rocket who were out for revenge against Ash. That had triggered Ash's desire to wipe out every criminal organization in the world, and he did so without mercy. His actions became more violent as he went, and he saved the Rockets to be his last target, and he made sure that Giovanni was locked away in jail for the rest of his life. Pikachu was proud of his master for stopping the worst of the crime in their world, but now he wanted to just enjoy a tournament like they had in the old days.

That was when Pidgeot returned from delivering Ash's last letter to Professor Oak and landed next to her trainer. "Pidgeopidg," she said.

"A message?" wondered Ash as he took the envelope from Pidgeot's messenger bird pack. There was a handwritten letter inside of an envelope.

_Dear Satoshi,_

_ Hopefully Professor Oak was telling me the truth that this is your Pidgeot, and this message has made it to you. I am writing to invite you to my first ever Pokémon Championship Tournament, to be held at Indigo Plateau in two weeks. This packet contains the proof that you have been granted permission to join this tournament. You will be battling against the best of the best from every region. Knowing you, I will be seeing you compete, and I can't wait to see how much you have truly improved since last we met. I'm sure your Pokémon are itching for a good competition._

_ - Scott and Mr. Goodshow_

_P.S. – I know your real name, and I just want to say that I have also invited those who betrayed you to this tournament. This is your chance for revenge._

Ash grinned diabolically. This was the chance he had been waiting ten years for. He and his Pokémon had been training every single day to improve just to humiliate those he once called his friends. He had Pidgeot return to his Pokéball, and he walked back to his hand-built cabin at the base of the mountain. Most of his Pokémon were there, including his Aura Pokémon, and friend, Lucario.

**"Master, what news has Pidgeot brought us?"** Lucario said through his aura.

"Everybody gather around!" Ash called out, not even bothering to tell Lucario to not call him master (he had been saying it for years, but eventually just let Lucario say it anyway). When all of his Pokémon had gathered, Ash continued, this time speaking with Aura. **"Scott has invited us to his newest world tournament. I think we should show the world the fruits of our labors. What say you?"** Ash asked. As soon as he was finished, every Pokémon roared in approval.

**"Master, it seems that they want to go!"** Lucario said, stating the obvious. Ash just smiled. It was finally his time. In a week's time, Ash had completed all of the necessary training for the tournament. He returned all of his Pokémon except Charizard and Pikachu, got onto Charizard's back and they took flight toward the Indigo Plateau.


	2. Chapter 2

_Facing the Traitors_

Charizard landed at Indigo Plateau's Pokémon Center the next day in the evening, and there were surprisingly a lot of people already there. When they saw Ash's Charizard, which was nearly double the size of the normal Charizard, everybody gawked. Ash entered the Pokémon Center nonchalantly, but not before hearing people whispering "Who is he," or "I get the feeling that I don't want to face him in this tournament," and somebody even said "I think that's Satoshi."

Ash wasn't surprised that people knew of him, even if only by his fake name. Since he became known as Satoshi, he had gained quite a reputation from winning every Pokémon league tournament and even going on to defeat the Elite Four and Champion of every region. That however, was not of much concern to him now. All he really wanted was to register for the tournament and get some training in with his Pokémon before the tournament.

Not surprisingly, there was a line of about ten people at the registration, no matter which of the three Nurse Joys he chose, so Ash just picked the left one and waited. He wasn't too worried about the other trainers around him, as he recognized almost none of them other than a few members of the Elite Four, and even a few Champions. Ash got to the Nurse Joy after five minutes of waiting.

"Welcome, please hand me your Pokédex so that I may register you," she said. Ash did so, deciding that it was finally time to lose the false name, now that he was ready to prove to the world just how strong he had become. "Well, Mr. Ketchum, you are all set. Here is your room key. You'll be on the fifth floor, in room twenty."

"Thank you Nurse Joy," He said, thankful that nobody heard his name. With that, he and Pikachu began walking toward the door to find their hotel, but Ash stopped cold when he sensed a lot of familiar aura. All of his 'friends' were together, laughing and talking about how they would steamroll the competition. Normally, Ash would have just chuckled to himself, but he couldn't bring himself to do it when he saw Dawn holding hands with none other than Paul. There was, however something strange about Dawn's aura. Ash could tell that Dawn was not happy to be with Paul. Ash decided to take a seat on one of the benches so he could relax while he listened to what they were saying.

That was when May looked directly at Ash, clearly shocked. Ash, who was using aura to listen to their conversations, heard May whisper, "Guys, isn't that Satoshi?" In response to her question everybody looked at Ash as well, as if it wasn't already obvious enough that they were talking about him.

"I think so," said Paul, "he looks the same way he does in every one of his battles. I had a feeling he might be here."

"What should we do?" asked Max.

Just then, Dawn's Piplup came out of his Pokéball and ran over to Ash. The little Pokémon recognized his old friends and was excited to see them after so long.

"Pipipiplup!" he called, his happiness evident from his chirps. Dawn, who was blushing severely ran over and grabbed Piplup.

"I'm sorry about that. Piplup must have mistaken you for somebody else," Dawn said, clearly embarrassed by Piplup's behavior.

Ash just chuckled. "It's quite alright Dawn," "Shit."

Dawn was confused now. "How do you know my name?"

"I recognized you from all of your contest performances. I was even there when you won the Kanto Grand Festival one year ago," Ash lied, although he knew that Dawn had indeed won that contest. Thankfully, Ash had given the right answer, because Dawn blushed.

"Wow, I didn't know Satoshi watched Pokémon contests." Dawn thought. Then she got a better look past the shadow of his hood. "Wait, he looks familiar. He looks just like Ash would, but it couldn't be him. Ash hasn't been seen for almost a decade." Her curiosity got the better of her. "I'm sorry, but you look really familiar. Do I know you?"

"I don't think we have," Ash said. "Anyway, I will be heading to my hotel room. I will see you tomorrow at the opening ceremonies." Ash left the Pokémon Center when Dawn rejoined the others, but not before listening to what the traitors all said while they waited for registration.

"Dawn, something is bothering you," Brock said.

"It's Satoshi. When I saw his face, I could have sworn he looked exactly like Ash," she replied.

"Dawn, Ash isn't coming back. We all know that he was a failure as a trainer. He would never be here," Paul said.

"Yeah, I guess. I just wonder if Ash is okay, I mean his mother was killed not long after he left," she said with concern. Everybody felt some guilt about that, since Ash may have saved Delia had he not been driven away by them.

"We should stop talking about Ash," said Trip. "He's not coming back, and we all know it." That was when the conversation ended. Ash just laughed to himself. He knew his 'friends' would be quite shocked to find out who Satoshi really was, and then all of them would realize how wrong they really were.


	3. Chapter 3

_Tournament Partners_

"Hello, everybody!" Scott said into the microphone. He stood on the raised dais with Mr. Goodshow next to him. "I am proud to welcome all of you to the first Pokémon World Tournament in history. As you all were told in your invitations, only the best of the best of the best have been invited. Among you are Gym Leaders, Elite Four members, Champions, and even trainers who have come out of retirement just for this tournament." Scott paused, allowing the applause from the crowd to die down. "Now, let's get down to business. The first round of the tournament shall be team, 4-on-4 double battles. Trainers have been randomly paired by the computer, so we wish you the best of luck, and recommend that your teamwork is as strong as possible. The pairings will be posted in the Pokémon Center. Now, be ready for the tournament of the century!" Scott said. He just smiled toward Ash knowingly.

Needless to say, there was a mad dash to the Pokémon Center to see who was paired with whom. When Ash got there, he saw that many members of the Elite Four had been paired and the Champions had also been paired up, such as Wallace and Steven, Lance and Diantha, and Cynthia and Alder. He knew that those teams would be challenging due to their incredible skills. Max and May had been paired up, as well as Brock and Misty. Next was Gary and Cilan, probably a dangerous team to most, then Trip and Iris, and finally came Serena and Paul. All of the traitors had been paired with each other and placed in a bracket directly opposite his. Ash then chose then looked for who he had been paired with, but didn't need to wait long.

He was shocked to see that he had been paired with Dawn, of all people, and his real name was under his picture. He then used his aura to listen to what people were saying. There was a great deal of confusion from everybody, excluding the Champions who all knew Satoshi's real identity. It was the reactions of his 'friends' that intrigued him most, however.

"I knew he looked like Ash," Dawn said quietly to herself.

"Wait, Satoshi has been Ash all along?" Misty said incredulously.

"It doesn't matter what he called himself, Ash is still a pathetic trainer. I feel sorry for you Dawn, it doesn't seem like you'll make it very far in this tournament," said Paul.

Ash had heard enough. He decided it was time to fully confront his 'friends.' So he waited on a bench outside the Pokémon Center for all of them to finally exit. They spotted him on the bench, and everybody came up to him with cutting glares. Dawn, however, was the only one who didn't follow the crowd. She didn't seem mad at all, in fact she looked guilty.

"Well, if it isn't weak old Ashy-boy," Gary said in his typically malicious voice. "I'm shocked that a little bitch like you was invited. I admit that you had all of us believing you were Satoshi for a while."

Ash just looked up at Gary, while he wanted to keep his temper under control, he found that he just couldn't. "I'd say that it's good to see all of you, but I'm afraid that would be a lie," He said in a harsh tone. They all saw his eyes for the first time in a decade, and they were glowing blue with Aura, causing everybody to take a step back out of fear. "Everybody but Dawn, leave now!" Ash said, on the verge of speaking through his aura out of anger. The traitors all obeyed, realizing that this was one fight they didn't want to start.

As soon as Ash and Dawn were alone, Dawn immediately surprised Ash by hugging him tightly as she began crying. "Ash…I'm…so sorry. I…never wanted…to say what I said to you. They…threatened my…mother if…if I didn't do what they wanted," she said through her sobs. When Dawn said all this, Ash knew that she was being honest, even without reading her aura. So he returned the hug, trying to comfort the only one among his 'friends' who had been loyal for all this time. "And now…because of us…Delia is dead. I-I'm so sorry Ash."

Ash just held her tighter, comforting her as she wept. "It's okay Dawn. I forgive you," Ash said when Dawn had finished crying. "Come on; let's go back to the hotel. You need to get some sleep before tomorrow," he said. Dawn relaxed and nodded her agreement. She was overjoyed that Ash had forgiven her so quickly, but this was Ash after all. He has always been forgiving when it came to his friends.

They walked in silence to the hotel, Pikachu back on his usual spot on Ash's shoulders. Despite having countless questions to ask, Dawn figured it was best to wait until they got to one of their hotel rooms. When they got inside, Ash broke the silence. "What room are you in, by the way?"

"Fifth floor, room twenty one," Dawn said.

"I'm on the fifth floor, room twenty," Ash said, suddenly remembering that his room adjoined to Dawn's.

"Wow, that's strange. I guess that gives us time to catch up, doesn't it?" Dawn said.

"I guess so." The two took the elevator to their rooms, where they separated only until they opened the doors the separated their rooms. For the rest of the night, they stayed awake just talking about what had happened to them since they parted ways, while Pikachu and Piplup were playing until they both fell asleep in the other room. Ash left out certain details about his story, such as what Pokémon he had, and where he had living for all these years. He did tell her about how he went through the different regions, defeating the Elite Fours and Champions in each. He told her about how he defeated the criminal organizations around the world, forcing them to disband. This part worried Dawn, but she couldn't help but admire how much Ash had accomplished to keep the world safe since they last met.

Dawn had apparently won multiple Grand Festivals, and had won the Wallace Cup three more times. All of her Pokémon aside from Piplup had evolved fully. She had even caught a few Kalos Pokémon with Serena. Then, Ash asked about a tender topic.

"So, what's going on with you and Paul?" Ash asked.

Dawn sighed, she had known this was coming. "We started dating about two years ago. I don't know what compelled me to say yes to Paul, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. It turns out that Paul hasn't changed at all. He's still a complete jerk."

"So why don't you break up with him?" Ash asked.

"It's because he still reminds me of you. I guess I missed you so much that Paul seemed like the only one who could take your place," Dawn said, clearly ashamed of her choice. That was when Ash surprised her by putting his arm around her.

"I really meant that much to you?" he asked.

Dawn just laughed lightly. "Ash, you always were dense. I mean, I didn't exactly hide it when we traveled together."

"I thought that was just a childhood crush," Ash said. "I figured you would find somebody once I left."

Dawn just smiled. "I had already found you. What more could a girl possibly want?" Ash could tell that this was his chance. He leaned in and planted a kiss on her lips. Dawn was surprised, but she relaxed with the pleasure. They held that kiss until they needed to break for air. When they did, Dawn smiled at Ash, clearly happy with their kiss. That was when Ash first noticed just how beautiful Dawn had become over the last decade. She even rivaled, if not surpassed Cynthia in beauty, and that was no small feat. Soon enough, they had passed out in Ash's room, but they were holding each other closely.


	4. Chapter 4

_First Rounds: Doubles_

Ash and Dawn awoke to the sound of the alarm clock ringing (which Ash had learned to set after all these years). Their first match was in one hour, which gave them time to get ready for their battle. Luckily it didn't take either of them any time at all to shower and get dressed. When they were ready, they together to the locker rooms beneath the stadiums. Their match was to be the first, and Ash planned to shock the audience, and Dawn, with his newest Pokémon. "Damn, it's good to be the Chosen One." Ash thought.

After about ten minutes of waiting in the stadium's tunnel, the tournament's announcer began. "Ladies, and Gentlemen! Welcome to the first ever Pokémon World Tournament. This is where we will decide who the greatest trainer in the world is, and it all starts with this match. On the red platform, we have Elite Four members hailing from Kalos, and Hoenn. Put your hands together for Sydney and Malva!" The crowd went wild. They got the feeling that this would be an amazing battle without even seeing their opponents. "Now, on the green platform, we have the world famous coordinator, Dawn!" The announcer paused for dramatic effect. "And Dawn's partner is a trainer who has won in every Pokémon League and has defeated the Champions in each region, but he hasn't been seen for the last five years in a competition. You know him as Satoshi. Please welcome Ash Ketchum!" The stadium erupted with cheers at the mention of Ash. They had heard that Ash was known for his comebacks when he was younger, so they were hoping to see one today. Ash, however, was not about to give them what they wanted.

Ash and Dawn took their positions across from Sydney and Malva as the referee explained the rules. Each trainer gets two Pokémon, when both trainers on one side run out of Pokémon, the other team wins. "You ready Dawn?" Ash asked.

"As I'll ever be," she said, clearly nervous.

"Relax, just leave it all to me," Ash said with a wink.

"Send out your Pokémon!" the referee said, beginning the match. Sydney sent out his Absol, while Malva used her Pyroar, and Dawn sent out her Mamoswine. Ash, however, paused. He wanted this to be dramatic.

"Come forth my friend! I need your assistance!" Ash called out. The Pokémon that was released caused the entire audience to gasp and fall silent. There in front of them was a Pokémon that should only exist in the legends, and the only proof that it actually existed were just blurry photos that were less credible than most sasquatch pictures.

POV change: The Traitors, location: front row along the sidelines.

"How?" asked Brock, breaking the stunned silence.

"I have no idea. Ash is too pathetic to control that Pokémon," said Paul.

"Even if he's too weak," said Max, "there is still a Mewtwo on his side of the field."

POV change: 3rd person

Ash looked at Dawn, who was just as shocked as the rest of the audience. She had heard about Mewtwo's unparalleled power, but she always believed them to be exaggerated. Now, with Mewtwo so close to her, Dawn could clearly sense the massive amounts of psychic energy radiating from the Pokémon, and she didn't even have psychic abilities.

Ash just winked at Dawn and said. "Like I said, leave it all to me."

The referee shook himself out of his daze. "B-begin the battle!" he said.

"Mewtwo, you know what to do!" Ash commanded. Mewtwo smirked. That was when Mewtwo vanished, only to reappear behind Absol. He then shot a powerful Aura Sphere, which he learned from Ash's Lucario, leaving Absol no time to react. The attack sent Absol flying across the field, where it landed and fainted. Mewtwo then turned its focus on Pyroar as it grabbed the lion Pokémon in Psychic before throwing it into the stadium wall where it immediately fainted.

"Absol and Pyroar are unable to battle. Red Platform, choose your next Pokémon."

While both Elite Four members were concerned, they didn't back down, knowing that their reputations were on the line. Sydney sent out his Zoroark, while Malva sent out her Chandelure. Both were hoping that they could win with type alone. Ash and Mewtwo smirked at the same time, their telepathic link proving to be quite strong. That was when Mewtwo launched a barrage of Shadow Balls, knocking out Chandelure in one shot, and Zoroark in two.

The referee was stunned. The first match, which had been against two Elite Four members, had been swept by one man. "Zoroark and Chandelure are both unable to battle, the Green Platform wins," he said. With that, Ash had Mewtwo return to his Pokéball and he started to walk back to the locker rooms. Dawn shook herself out of her daze from what had just happened before she followed Ash into the locker rooms and back to their hotel room.

**I hope you have enjoyed this story so far. Please leave me reviews on what I can improve on, and give suggestions as to what other legendary Pokémon Ash will get (he will have 5 in this one), who you think he should face, and when he should face each of the traitors. I intend to have all of the traitors face Ash at one point or another. I don't intend to go into detail about any matches other than those involving Ash or Dawn, but I will if it involves one of Ash's former friends.**


	5. Chapter 5

_Aftershock_

"Ash, wait up!" Dawn called as the two teammates walked to the locker rooms. Ash just turned around and smiled.

"What's wrong Dawn? Didn't I tell you to leave it all to me?" Ash said in a charming tone.

"I thought you were just going to use Sceptile or Greninja. You never told me you caught Mewtwo!"

"Well, I had to leave some things out of my story. After all, it wouldn't be a surprise if you already knew," Ash said with a sly wink. He continued walking, this time Dawn was with him.

"Okay, fine, just tell me something. How many legendary Pokémon do you have?"

"I've got five of them. All of them chose to come with me willingly."

"Which ones?" Dawn said as her interest piqued.

"You'll have to wait and see," Ash said with a smile. "By the way, are those traitors still threatening your mother?"

"No, thank Arceus. They decided it was pointless to coerce me when I started dating Paul."

"Well, just to be certain, I want you to do something for me."

"Sure," Dawn said with a suspicious tone.

"Tell all of them that I wish to battle them in front of the Pokémon Center tonight after the first round is over." Dawn was a little worried, but after Ash and Mewtwo easily defeated Malva and Sydney, she understood what Ash wanted to do.

POV Change: Traitors

All of Ash's 'friends' were in shock, none of them would have guessed that Ash, of all people would have Mewtwo. Paul finally broke the silence.

"Relying on a Legendary Pokémon for an easy win, Ash is just as pathetic as always."

"I'm just wondering how he was able to catch Mewtwo," Cilan said. "Pathetic or not, that Pokémon has the potential to create a truly disastrous recipe for us."

That was when Dawn came up to join them. "Hey, how'd you like that match?" she asked.

"Dawn, that wasn't even a match. Mewtwo was the only one who did anything," Brock remarked.

"Oh, by the way, Ash gave me a message for all of you," Dawn said. The traitors all looked her way, suddenly intrigued. "He challenged you all to a battle outside the Pokémon Center after the doubles rounds are over."

They all just smirked. "Well, this should be fun. We get the chance to pummel that weak little bitch before we battle in single battles," Gary said maliciously. The rest of them agreed. Ash had no chance of beating all of them. So they all agreed to the challenge.

POV Change: Ash

Ash just smiled. He had been listening to the whole conversation between the traitors through his aura. He was already in the hotel room, and he was about to start meditating with Lucario before his next battle, which was going to be against one trainer who really shouldn't be at the tournament, and he was paired with somebody who used Legendary Pokémon far too much. This would be his last match of the round, and thus the last round he would have with Dawn as a partner. With that on his mind, Ash and Lucario both slipped into a meditative state.

Three hours later, it was time for his next battle. He stopped by the Pokémon Center to see who had advanced, and saw that every one of the traitors had won their matches, but they were against no-name trainers, so Ash wasn't too concerned. That was when he went to the stadium. He and Dawn had agreed to just meet in the tunnel before the battle. Luckily, she was there when Ash arrived. "You ready to do this?" she asked.

"Of course, but I'm not using a legendary this time. I don't want this to be too fast. Isn't that right Pikachu?" Ash asked his best friend.

"Pi Pikachu!" the electric mouse said with enthusiasm. That was when the announcer began calling out the competitors

"On the Red Platform, please welcome the runner-up from nearly every Pokémon League, as well as the man who has won just as many, Shawn and Tobias!" The crowd erupted into cheers. Ash just smirked. It was his time to get back at Tobias. "Now, on the Green Platform, we have top coordinator, Dawn, and with her is quite possibly the world's greatest trainer, Ash Ketchum!" Both trainers walked out calmly as the crowd roared for them.

POV change: The Traitors

"So, Ash is going to use another legendary, isn't he?" Paul said with a smirk.

"I don't think he will," Brock noted. "He may be an idiot, but he knows that he shouldn't give out his surprises until the time is right." Every traitor nodded.

"Well, if he doesn't use a Legendary, we will all enjoy watching him get pummeled, won't we?" Trip said, clearly forgetting how Ash had beaten him in the Preliminary rounds of the Unova League with his Pikachu.

POV change: Ash

"Tobias! I hope you're ready to lose to me this time!" Ash yelled.

"Mr. Ketchum, if I recall, it took you three Pokémon to just defeat my Darkrai all those years ago. You may want to just forfeit before you humiliate yourself."

"You'll regret that," Ash said.

"Send out your Pokémon!" called the referee.

Shawn sent out an Electivire, and Tobias, as usual, chose his Darkrai.

"Typhlosion, Spotlight!" Dawn called, saying what she usually said when sending out her Pokémon.

"Go, Lucario!" Ash called as he threw his Pokéball, releasing the jackal-like Pokémon.

"Begin the match!" the referee said.

That was when Ash spoke through his aura to command his Pokémon. **"Lucario, use Aura Sphere on Darkrai!"** This shocked everybody. Nobody had ever heard a person speak with aura until now, and it boomed with authority.

Lucario attacked without mercy, launching the Aura Sphere directly Darkrai, sending it flying, but the legendary Pokémon was not done just yet.

"Darkrai, use Dark Void!" Tobias commanded, hoping to put Lucario to sleep.

"Typhlosion, intercept with Flamethrower!" Dawn commanded, and Typhlosion did his job, his Flamethrower stopping the attack.

"Electivire, use Brick Break on Typhlosion!" Shawn commanded, hoping to take advantage of Typhlosion's distraction. It would have made contact, but Ash intervened.

**"Lucario, Bone Rush on Electivire!"** Ash called. At that exact moment, Lucario leapt between Electivire and Typhlosion with a bone made from aura in his hands. Lucario then started to attack relentlessly, sending Electivire back for a few step before Lucario wound up and hit Electivire like a baseball, sending it into the wall, where it fainted.

"Electivire is unable to continue. Shawn, pick your next Pokémon," the referee said.

"I choose Magmortar!" Shawn called out, releasing the gigantic fire Pokémon.

"**Now Lucario, use Agility, then use Force Palm on Darkrai."** Lucario seemed to disappear a second later before it reappeared directly above and behind Darkrai. Lucario's palm began to glow white just before he slammed it into Darkrai's back, sending it into the ground like a bullet.

"Darkrai is unable to battle! Tobias, please choose your next Pokémon." Everybody was surprised. This was only the second time ever that Tobias's Darkrai had fallen, and it was to the same trainer as the last time.

"Well done once again Ash. You have proven your skill for a second time. Now, go Latios!" Tobias called.

Ash just laughed. He knew Tobias was a weak trainer from the beginning. The only reason this guy had been able to win so many matches was because he relied solely on legendary Pokémon to win. **"Lucario, Dark Pulse on Latios!"** Ash commanded. Lucario immediately did as he was commanded and fired a stream of black rings directly at Latios.

"Typhlosion, use Stone Edge on Magmortar," Dawn commanded. Typhlosion was surrounded by three rings of stones before he fired them directly at Magmortar, hitting the lava Pokémon at the same time as Lucario's Dark Pulse struck Latios. Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of the battle.

"Dawn, have Typhlosion use Earthquake now," Ash said without his aura. Dawn was hesitant at first, but she trusted Ash so she did what he asked.

"Typhlosion, Earthquake now!" Dawn commanded.

"**Lucario, jump onto Latios's back now!" **Ash commanded. Thanks to his increased speed (and his speed was already stellar) Lucario seemed to just teleport as it landed on the eon Pokémon. **"Now use Force Palm!" **Ash commanded. Lucario struck Latios in the back, sending it flying into the ground just in time for Earthquake's shockwave to hit. Lucario just used his aura to float to the ground calmly. Latios and Magmortar, however, had already fainted.

"Latios and Magmortar are unable to battle. Ash and Dawn are the victors!" said the referee. With that, the crowd erupted into applause. While it hadn't been as astounding as Ash's first battle, it was still amazing teamwork, and they had watched a Lucario and a Typhlosion take down two legendary Pokémon.

POV Change: Traitors

"Well, it seems Ash's time away has been really good to him," Serena said. She was also quite concerned, since Ash's match had been the last for the first round. It was now time for everybody to finally face Ash.

"It was too easy. Everybody knew after a few years that Tobias hid behind his Darkrai and Latios to make it seem like he was strong. We all know that he was just pathetic," Paul said. "We will not lose to Ash tonight, I can guarantee that."

POV Change: Ash

"Well, it seems that those bastards want to accept my challenge after all," Ash chuckled as he held up one of his most recently filled Pokéballs. "Well, I won't disappoint them, but after I'm finished with them, they will all have lost a Pokémon for the rest of time."

**Hope this was enjoyable. Let me know how I did with the battle scenes, and which Pokémon the traitors (Misty, Brock, May, Max, Paul, Drew, Serena, Iris, Cilan, Trip) should use against Ash. Also, don't expect updates during the week. Only on Fridays and the weekends.**


	6. Chapter 6

**In this next installment of Ash Strikes Back, I've decided to give Ash a sixth legendary. You will see what it is near the end of the entire story, when the tournament is over. I will be having Ash's next legendary have the powers it has in its own movie.**

_Ten on One_

Ash sat on the bench outside the Pokémon Center in Indigo Plateau, his Pokémon already selected. All he had to do now was wait for the traitors to show up so he could wipe the floor with them.

POV change: The Traitors

The entire group was ready to face Ash. They had all chosen their most powerful Pokémon to battle with. Gary chose his Blastoise, Brock had his Steelix, Misty had Gyarados, May chose her Blaziken, Max had a Sceptile, Serena had Delphox, Cilan had his Simisage (he evolved his Pansage a while back), Iris had Haxorous, Paul had his Torterra, and Trip had his Serperior.

"Is everybody ready to destroy that loser finally?" Paul asked. Everyone nodded in response. "Then let's go."

All of the traitors started heading toward the Pokémon Center. "Wait!" Brock said. "Where is Dawn?"

"She said she had a headache, so she went to her hotel room. Don't worry, we'll be fine without her," Paul said.

POV change: Dawn

Unbeknownst to Paul, Dawn was actually in a café near the Pokémon Center. She was wearing a slight disguise so the others wouldn't recognize her. She just sat with Piplup, sipping a cup of tea with a croissant, while Piplup had a bowl of Pokémon food. That was when she saw the group of traitors walking towards Ash.

"So Ashy-boy, are you ready to get your ass kicked when we show everybody how weak you truly are?" Gary asked in a mocking tone. Ash didn't respond in anyway. He just sat silently, off-balancing the traitors.

"What, are you suddenly too good for us," Misty said. "We always knew you didn't have the balls to battle all of us."

Ash just looked at them nonchalantly. "If you're all quite finished with that pointless banter, please send out your Pokémon." The fact that Ash was completely at ease worried many bystanders, but that didn't stop the traitor from backing up to make room for the battle to take place.

"GO!" all of Ash's former friends called, throwing their Pokéballs. Out came Blastoise, Steelix, Gyarados, Blaziken, Sceptile, Torterra, Simisage, Haxorous, Serperior, and Delphox. This worried Dawn. All of these Pokémon were immensely powerful, and she knew that Ash has a strategy to beat these Pokémon, but it would be tough for it to work. That was when Ash threw his Pokéball, and the Pokémon that came out gave a shriek so otherworldly that it sent shivers down everybody's spines. As if that wasn't enough, there came a deathly cold chill in the air.

POV Change: Serena

"We are screwed." Serena tried to say, but she found that the words wouldn't come out. It was as if this Pokémon was preventing her from even communicating in its presence. She looked around and saw that everybody else was having the same troubles, but one thing was clear. They all knew that they had made a huge mistake accepting this challenge. She also noticed that all of those who had been nearby, other than one lady at the café, had left quickly. That was when Ash spoke through aura.

**"I suppose I should introduce you all to my friend. This is the Pokémon of Death and Destruction, Yveltal!"** Ash said. **"I may have been your friend at one point, but all of you betrayed me. So it is only fitting that you should know something. Arceus does not look kindly on traitors to the Chosen One. He has granted me permission to do this, and your Pokémon shall perish."**

POV Change: Dawn

She heard every word that Ash spoke. It was frightening to say the least, but she knew that Ash was right. Since they had traveled together, Dawn had become quite interested in the Sinnoh Space-Time legend. She found that Arceus hadn't just created the world, but throughout the ages he had chosen specific humans to become stronger than all others. It also listed the consequences for betraying a Chosen One, and it did state that those who betray Arceus's chosen trainer would forfeit one life each, be it their own or that of their Pokémon. She was horrified by what would happen, but she couldn't take her eyes away from the scene.

POV change: Ash

**"Now, it is time for the will of Arceus to be carried out. Yveltal, use Oblivion Wing"** Ash commanded. Yveltal took flight as his body began to glow a bright red. That was when Yveltal fired a single, gigantic beam of energy at all of the traitor's Pokémon. None of them had a chance to dodge the attack. When the beam dissipated, it seemed like nothing had happened to the Pokémon, and the traitors all looked confused. That was when the true effect of the attack took hold. Every Pokémon began to turn to solid stone. None of them were spared. The last one to turn to stone fully was Delphox, who looked at Serena with a deep sadness in her eyes, as if she were trying to say something to Serena, just before she was completely petrified in stone.

POV Change: Serena

When she saw her first Pokémon and her closest friend being turned into stone Serena fell to her knees. She couldn't believe what had just happened. Not only had she lost the match, but her best friend was dead because of her, and Serena couldn't even understand what Delphox was saying to her. She had just lost the Pokémon that would have given anything just to help her out. That was when Serena came to her own realization.

"This must be how Ash felt when we betrayed him," Serena thought. "He was just like Delphox, but I still betrayed his trust. What kind of a person am I?" Serena couldn't hold it back any longer as she held the statue that had been her Delphox and wept over it.

**"Yveltal return,"** Ash commanded as the Pokémon of death was sent back into its Pokéball. That was when the chill in the air disappeared, and Ash stopped speaking through aura. "Now, realize that this can be temporary if I so choose. That will only happen after the tournament is over," Ash said. He then put Yveltal's Pokéball into his bag and walked away. He winked at Dawn who was still shocked at how brutal Ash had been. He knew that Dawn would want to discuss what had happened, but he would be ready for her questions.

**Again, thank you all for reading this story. I will try to keep updating on the weekends, but I won't promise anything yet. As always, leave some reviews about what you want to see happen in this story, and what order Ash should face his rivals in. Also, let me know you want to see any of the traitors repent in this?**


	7. Chapter 7

_Shock and Awe_

It had been almost an hour since Ash had battled the traitors to take his revenge, but Dawn had yet to return. He wasn't too concerned though. He was meditating with Lucario to process what he had done. He was in a deep meditative state, his mind drifting through the vast ocean of his aura, when Arceus appeared in his consciousness.

**"Ash" it said. **Ash's mental eyes opened. **"You have carried out my will and I am proud of you, but I must give you another commandment. I wish to offer them a chance at redemption, so if any one of them wishes to repent, and their aura proves it, then you are to restore that trainer's Pokémon to life."**

** "Understood Lord Arceus,"** Ash said as he was once again left in solitude in his mind. At that moment, Dawn and Piplup returned from the café.

_Flashback 1 hour ago, POV: Dawn_

All of Ash's former friends were in shock, some of the girls were crying for the loss of their closest friends while the guys all had looks of severe shame. Dawn was still at her table with Piplup. She was having trouble comprehending what had just happened, or what Ash had meant when he had said that the traitors could have their Pokémon back if he chose. She knew of only one Pokémon that could counter-act Yveltal's attack, and that was Xerneas. Dawn just wondered if Ash would stick to his word when it came to it.

She got up and decided to talk to the traitors, but she decided to do some acting to make it seem like she hadn't seen everything (luckily she had good acting skills that went along with being a coordinator).

So Dawn sent her Staravia (she caught it over the past decade) with her coat and hat to her room. When she was in her typical outfit, Dawn walked over to her 'friends' and gave a very convincing shriek. "What the hell happened?" she asked.

Brock just looked up. "That bastard Ash just killed all our Pokémon with Yveltal."

"Was that shriek that I heard earlier? I just came to check it out," she said.

"It was. You live next door to that son of a bitch don't you?" Paul said, still thinking Dawn was his girlfriend.

"Yeah, why?" she asked, feigning curiosity

"Deliver this message to him," Trip said. "We will get revenge for this!"

"I'll let him know."

_Flashback end, POV: Ash_

"Ash, are you here?" Dawn called out when she entered the room. She walked into Ash's room to see him floating on what looked like aura while he was meditating in a seated, cross-legged position. She also saw Pikachu curled up on Ash's bed, sound asleep. "Ash?" she said. Ash opened his eyes, which glowed blue with aura. "Sorry for interrupting, can we talk for a little bit?" She asked.

Ash returned to a standing position and the aura in his eyes disappeared. "Let me guess, those traitors want revenge now?" he said knowingly.

"How did you know?"

"I listened through your aura. It's something I learned to do when I became an Aura Guardian."

"I see. Well, I just want to say that I'm pretty sure everybody in that group hates you even more than before, so what are you going to do?"

Ash smirked. "I will restore their Pokémon only when they have seen the error of their betrayal. Believe me; Arceus does not want any Pokémon to die from anything but old age."

Dawn breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that. She was glad that Ash was still willing to forgive those who betrayed him. She just wished that those traitors would see what they did wrong in the first place.

"By the way, I have a gift for you," Ash said. Dawn was now intrigued, Ash usually didn't give gifts unless they were really good.

"Really? What is it?" she asked with a little too much enthusiasm.

Ash just chuckled and reached into his pocket, taking out a Pokéball. "Here you go Dawn. It only just hatched a few days ago." With that, he handed the Pokéball to Dawn. "Go ahead, open it."

Dawn activated the Pokéball and opened it. What came out immediately won her over. It was a baby Eevee, no more than half the size of a normal Eevee. "Oh my goodness, it's adorable!" she said, immediately falling in love with the Pokémon. She picked up her new Pokémon, which seemed to take an immediate liking to Dawn as it began to nuzzle her like they were old friends. "Ash how did you get an Eevee egg?" Dawn giggled. Ash just smiled and took out eight Pokéballs, and let out all of his evolutions of Eevee. He had a Jolteon, Vaporeon, Flareon, Espeon, Umbreon, Glaceon, Leafeon, and even a Sylveon. Dawn was astounded.

"These two are that Eevee's parents," Ash said, gesturing to Sylveon and Leafeon. Dawn noticed that the Sylveon and Leafeon both looked very proud like parents typically do.

"Thank you Sylveon and Leafeon. I promise to take good care of your baby," Dawn said, clearly still completely in love with Eevee. Shortly, Eevee had fallen asleep in Dawn's arms. Dawn just set it down onto her bed, where it was joined by its mother and father, who curled up next to it like cats. Pikachu and Piplup went onto some of the other furniture of the room and almost immediately fell asleep.

POV Change: Dawn

Dawn looked at Ash. "Well, Mr. Ketchum, you definitely have outdone yourself after all these years." Ash couldn't help but notice that Dawn had a really deep blush. He had to admit, while Dawn had been cute back when they were kids, she was downright gorgeous now. Dawn then seductively closed the door to her room (where the Pokémon were sleeping) before she came up to him. The one thing Dawn hadn't had a good look while she and Ash had been together these past few days was his face because of his hood. She was going to fix that.

His face was even more handsome than she thought it would be. He had lost the "Z's" on his cheeks, but his hair was shorter than before, but it was still the raven black she remembered. There was only one thing that she hadn't expected. He had a scar across his forehead. It looked like a blade had slashed across his forehead. Dawn couldn't help herself and started to stare at it.

"It's the scar, isn't it?" Ash said, noticing Dawn's concerned gaze. "I guess that I'll explain the story behind that."

_Flashback 3 years ago, POV change: Ash_

Ash had Lucario and Pikachu next to him as they worked their way through the Team Rocket hideout, his Pokémon knocking out or even killing the operatives. Ash was now on his way into Giovanni's office, which was just at the end of this hall. He used his aura to blast open the door and he walked in only to find Giovanni standing behind his desk, looking out his window.

"So, the great Satoshi has come for me at last? Well, I must say that I'm surprised that you have made it here so fast, but that is to be expected of my own son."

Ash was taken aback. "What are you talking about? I am not related to you in anyway Giovanni."

"Is that so, Satoshi? Or should I call you by your real name, ASH KETCHUM, son of Delia Ketchum."

Now Ash was worried. "How?"

"Simple, I am your father. Delia and I dated almost thirty years ago, but I wasn't going to settle down with some simple woman. So I left her pregnant with you. Now, it seems that choice has come back to haunt me. Nevertheless, even if you are my son, I don't take kindly to intruders unless they are requesting to join us. PERSIAN, kill this intruder now!" Giovanni commanded.

A white blur leapt towards Ash, who only had enough time to throw the cat's trajectory enough to make it miss his throat, in exchange, the cat's claws dug deeply into Ash's forehead. Soon there was blood pouring from the wound, and in forced Ash to close his eyes. After his training as an Aura Guardian, however, Ash had no need for sight. He sensed Persian's Aura as it prepared to pounce one more time, but Ash never allowed it the chance. He gripped it with aura and raised it overhead before throwing it through the window Giovanni was standing at. It took the fifty foot plummet to the ground, but it didn't get back up, let alone breathe again. Ash then focused his Aura on his forehead to stop the bleeding.

Just by reading Giovanni's aura, Ash could tell that the Persian's death had hurt Giovanni emotionally. The man had been very close to this Pokémon, and to see it thrown out the window was more than he could take.

"Fine, arrest me. I don't care. You've destroyed all of my other facilities. I just want to tell my own son one last thing before you leave me. I am proud of you. You have stuck to your convictions and you never gave up in pursuit of your dreams. I hope you will find peace in the future." Ash had heard enough. He created handcuffs of aura to restrain Giovanni.

"Even if we are biologically related," Ash said, "you are not my father. We are nothing alike." Ash then put Giovanni to sleep with Aura before calling Officer Jenny, who then took Giovanni into custody, where he was put on trial for conspiracy, and for cruelty to Pokémon. He didn't even bother to defend himself, and received five life sentences.

_End Flashback, POV change: Dawn_

When Ash had finished his tale, Dawn was deeply worried, but at the same time happy that Ash was willing to risk everything for the sake of Pokémon and his friends. She could also tell that Ash was deeply troubled by this story, so she kissed him. When they broke their kiss, Dawn looked at Ash and said "You are nothing like Giovanni. No matter what he may have said, you are only his son by blood, not by personality." Ash smiled. Dawn was always able to cheer him up when he was upset. They kissed again, but they were soon succumbed to their passion and became more promiscuous.

**Hope you enjoyed this addition. This may be the last one until Friday, so enjoy the story for now (I will try to find free time before hand, but college life can make it tricky). Anyway, as always, constructive criticism is welcome, as well as suggestions about where to go with the story. If you enjoyed this one, check out my first fanfiction **_**Becoming a Master**_**. It is a story about a trainer in an original region (no new Pokémon, sorry) who, like Ash, aims to be the greatest trainer in the world.**


	8. Chapter 8

**So I was able to find free time between classes to write the next chapter for Ash Strikes Back.**

_Tournament Solo Rounds_

Time Skip: 1 Day

POV: Dawn

"Congratulations to all those who have made it to the next rounds," Scott said. "You have all battled fiercely, and your Pokémon are all in top shape. We are now pleased to kick off the next round. These matches will be full 6-on-6 battles. Trainers have been randomly matched and those match-ups are listed in the Pokémon Center. Good luck."

Dawn was standing beside Ash, holding his hand and resting her head on his shoulder. She had broken up with Paul yesterday after Ash had given her the Eevee. She had just given Paul the reason that she wanted some time to sort things out for herself (he bought the lie easily). Paul had been pissed off about it, but he had accepted it without more than a few strong words. Dawn then came to Ash, and they almost immediately started dating. Dawn couldn't help but feel safe with Ash, and even without the ability to read aura, she could sense that there was something that was just right about this relationship.

She and Ash went to the Pokémon Center together, where they saw the match-ups. Ash's first match was against none other than Brock, the gym leader who had once been his best friend. It would be an emotional match-up. Dawn then looked for her name, what she saw surprised her. She would be going up against May; they had been rival coordinators for years now, and they were now even with how many matches they had won against the other. This was her chance to be victorious in their competition.

POV Change: Traitors

Brock was terrified. His beloved Steelix had just been petrified by Ash's Yveltal, and now he would have to face his former best friend. He had realized that Ash had changed drastically over the last decade. He had gone from being a determined, friendly, dense kid to being not only intelligent, but ruthless as well. Now Brock, like Serena, was feeling deeply guilty for betraying Ash. He remembered Ash had always supported him and treated him like family no matter what. It may be too late, but Brock decided that after he gave Ash a great Pokémon battle, he would apologize for being such a dick all those years ago.

May was less worried compared to Brock. She still thought Dawn was her friend, and she still wanted to have the match to determine who the best was. The only problem was that she had lost her Blaziken, her closest friend and her strongest Pokémon. She was just glad that she wasn't facing off against Ash like Brock was.

Max was going to be against Wikstrom of the Kalos Elite Four. Trip was going to Alder, the Unova champion who had been his inspiration to become a trainer. Cynthia was to battle against Paul. Iris was to face off against Lance, so she was going to be facing off against a true dragon master. Misty was going to be battling Wallace. The rest of the traitors were facing off against unknown trainers, so they felt certain that they would win their matches.

Time Skip: The Next Day. Dawn vs. May

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the second round of the Pokémon World Championship. This round will consist of full 6-on-6 battles. There is no time limit. Good luck to all trainers. Now for this battle, we will have two world famous coordinators. On the Red Platform, welcome Dawn!" The audience started applauding Dawn as she entered. "And on the Green Platform, it's May!" May also received a round of applause from the audience.

"HEY DAWN! Good luck to you. Let's battle as hard as we can as friends!" May said with a smile.

"Oh, I'm going to battle hard, but we are not friends. We haven't been since you betrayed Ash," Dawn said.

"Oh, that? You still support that asshole? He pretty much killed my Blaziken, and he hasn't even spoken to you until a few days ago."

"You threatened to hurt my mother if I didn't do what you said. As for Ash, he left because he lost the only people he called friends. Then his mother was murdered, because we drove him away and he wasn't able to get there to save her. We didn't even do anything to save Delia, he had every reason to hate us," Dawn called angrily.

"SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU!" the referee shouted. "Choose your Pokémon and begin the match, or I'll disqualify both of you!"

Dawn and May glared at each other as they picked their Pokémon.

"GLACEON!" May called.

"TYPHLOSION!" Dawn yelled.

"Green Platform has first move. Begin!" the referee declared.

"Glaceon, use Ice Shard!" Glaceon fired a gigantic ball of ice directly at Typhlosion.

"Typhlosion, Dodge and use Flame Wheel!" Typhlosion leapt away from the Ice Shard then sprinted directly at Glaceon. Typhlosion was soon shrouded in fire as it charged the ice-type Pokémon and it landed a direct hit, sending Glaceon flying, but that wasn't the end of the round. Glaceon landed on its feet, ready to continue.

"Glaceon, use Icy Wind!" Glaceon breathed a huge gust of wind mixed with snow, hail, and ice shards. Typhlosion had little chance to dodge and it. While the attack didn't do much in terms of damage, it did slow down the fire-type.

"Typhlosion, use Flame-Quake!" Dawn called, using a combination move.

Everybody was confused until Typhlosion used Flamethrower and Earthquake at the same time. Glaceon was thrown off balance, preventing it from dodging the incoming Flamethrower. That was when Glaceon fainted. Dawn had won the first round.

POV Change: Ash

Ash was in the front row, on the sidelines at the center of the battlefield. He was quite pleased to see that his new girlfriend was winning already. Ash sat back and watched as Dawn not only beat, but humiliated her. May only managed to defeat two of Dawn's Pokémon, while Dawn whipped May with no trouble. It came down to Piplup against Munchlax (which for whatever reason had not evolved). Piplup launched a Whirlpool, which caught Munchlax easily, making it dizzy. Dawn then had Piplup launch an Ice Beam at the Whirlpool, leaving Munchlax stuck in the ice. Piplup then used Drill Peck, shattering the ice and causing Munchlax to faint. Dawn had won her first match in the second round, and May had been publicly humiliated. This was turning out better than Ash had expected.

Time Jump: 5 hours

Ash was waiting in the tunnel for the announcer to call for him. He had watched every match until now and unfortunately all of the traitors, other than May, had miraculously pulled off wins in all their battles. That, however, was not too much of a problem, especially since Ash wanted to take down his former friends himself, or let Dawn take some of them out. He was completely ready to not only defeat, but to entirely humiliate them as much as possible. At almost that exact moment, the announcer started calling for Ash's round. "Now, that was a stunning upset, with Misty defeating Wallace at the last minute with her Golduck's Psychic attack on Milotic! Who would have seen that coming?" the announcer said as Wallace came down the same tunnel that Ash was in. Wallace looked disappointed, but he wasn't distraught over the loss. When the Hoenn Champion saw Ash he wished him luck before heading up to the stands for the next round.

"Now, on the Red Platform, we have the former Gym Leader of Pewter City and Pokémon doctor, Brock!" there was a great deal of applause as Brock walked out onto the field, "Now, please put your hands together for the trainer favored to win the title. Please put your hands together for Ash Ketchum!" The crowd roared when Ash entered the stadium. That, however, was not what Ash was concerned with. He noticed that Brock's aura was different from before. It no longer seemed like Brock was angry at him, instead Brock seemed to radiate guilt.

Ash and Brock got onto their platforms, where both took out their first Pokéball. "Hey, Ash. For this match, please don't use any legendary Pokémon," Brock asked, almost as if he were trying to say he wanted a battle like the old days.

Ash couldn't help but smile at Brock's request. "You mean you want to battle like we used to? Very well, I'll refrain from using one of the legendary Pokémon." He had hoped to at least regain his friendship with Brock of all people, but this battle would still be all out.

"Choose your first Pokémon!" called the referee.

"Go, Swampert!" Brock called.

"Then I'll use Sceptile!" Ash called out. The grass dinosaur came out on one knee before putting a single stalk of grain in its mouth as it typically did.

"Alright folks, it seems this first match-up will be between two Hoenn starters. This will be an interesting match," the announcer said.

"Red Platform has the first attack. Begin!" called the referee.

"Swampert, use Ice Beam!" Brock commanded. Swampert reared up and shot fired streams of ice.

"Sceptile, dodge and use Leaf Blade!" Sceptile waited until the Ice Beam was seconds away from getting hit, then it seemed to vanish. Swampert suddenly was thrown back multiple feet, where it fainted quickly. Sceptile then reappeared with a Leaf Blade, posing in a badass stance like a swordsman (Think like the ending of Infernape vs. Electivire in Ash's battle with Paul in Sinnoh League). It stood back up, where it returned to its original position.

"Swampert is unable to battle. Choose your next Pokémon."

Brock was in shock. "Ash, how did your Sceptile get to be so fast?"

"Special training," Ash said as if that should be obvious. Brock just nodded, realizing that was the only answer that he would get for now.

"Now, I choose Blissey!" Brock called out as he sent out the large nurse Pokémon. It was one of Brocks more durable Pokémon, but it was beatable. "Blissey, Egg Bomb!" Blissey launched what looked like an egg with a fuse.

Ash just smirked. Brock was trying, but he was not going to get a scratch on Sceptile unless Ash allowed it. "Sceptile, dodge and use Bullet Seed!" Sceptile once again disappeared, but appeared once again while it ran in circles around Blissey, firing perfectly precise shots of Bullet Seed repeatedly until Blissey collapsed.

"Blissey is unable to battle. Red Platform, choose your next Pokémon.

Brock was worried, but he had a Pokémon that would be able to take down Sceptile. "Go, Crobat!" he called as he released the four-winged bat. Again, Ash only smirked. This would be fun.

"Sceptile, get above Crobat and use Slam!" Ash called out, not even allowing Crobat the chance to try to attack. Once again, Sceptile disappeared. It reappeared directly above and behind Crobat as it swung its tail, sending Crobat plummeting into the ground, where it immediately fainted.

"Crobat is unable to battle. Red Platform, choose your next Pokémon," the referee said.

Brock now understood. This is what ten years of almost non-stop training did for a Pokémon and trainer. Ash had not only improved strategies, his Pokémon had such powerful attacks that not even type disadvantages could stop them.

"I have to pick a Pokémon that can beat Sceptile," Brock thought as he grabbed his next Pokéball. "I guess this Pokémon will have to do."

"GO, Golem!" Brock called, sending out his powerful rock Pokémon. Ash laughed this time.

"Brock, you know that Golem can't win against Sceptile," Ash said. "Sceptile, take out Golem with Bullet Seed!" Sceptile obeyed once again, shooting Golem with his attack. Golem took about five rounds before collapsing.

"Golem is unable to battle. Red Platform, choose your next Pokémon," the referee said.

"Well Ash, I caught this Pokémon a few years ago. I'm not sure how it will do against Sceptile, but good luck. Go, Ninetales!"

This was a surprise to Ash, but he wasn't concerned. Even the most powerful fire types, except for maybe Moltres or Ho-oh, had no chance against Sceptile. "Sceptile, use Earthquake!" Sceptile obeyed perfectly. The ground quaked powerfully, throwing Ninetales off-balance, causing it to stumble and fall repeatedly. "Sceptile, now use Extremespeed!" This time, Sceptile was gone in an instant, and Ninetales was hit straight back into Brock's platform. Ninetales fainted there.

"Ninetales is unable to battle. Red Platform, send out your last Pokémon!" the referee said.

Brock sighed. "This is it. I won't win, but I won't give up. Go, Ludicolo!"

"Well Brock, you gave it your best, but it's over now," Ash said. "Sceptile, Aerial Ace!" Sceptile sprinted toward Ludicolo, visibly this time, before vanishing and reappearing under the opponent and striking with its leaves. It was another one-shot.

"Ludicolo is unable to continue, and Brock has no more Pokémon to battle with. Ash Ketchum is the victor!" called the referee.

"What an amazing show of skill. Ash has won this match without losing even a single Pokémon! I sure feel sorry for whoever faces off against Ash next, because this trainer is unstoppable!" the announcer raved. Ash paid it no heed as he returned his Sceptile. Instead, he extended his aura to Brock's mind and told him to meet in front of the Pokémon Center. With that, Ash left the stadium with Pikachu on his shoulder, hoping that Brock would return to his senses.

**Well, I hope this chapter is just as exciting as the previous ones. The matches will continue to be randomized throughout the tournament, and I plan to have all of the traitors face off against Ash or Dawn. Let me know which battles you guys want to see next.**


	9. Chapter 9

**After reading the reviews, I have seen that there were requests to have only Serena be redeemed in this story. I hope to have the travel partners redeemed and maybe Gary. Brock will be the first because he is one of my favorite characters in the anime, and he was always more level-headed than the others. So without further ado, here is chapter 9.**

_Old Friends Redeemed_

POV: Brock

Brock was on his way to where his Steelix was petrified. He didn't see Ash anywhere, but he knew Ash was one to keep his word. So he waited on the bench for about five minutes. That was when a huge gust of wind buffeted Brock and Ash's Pidgeot flew overhead before it landed beside the petrified Pokémon. Ash had Pidgeot return before he pulled out a different Pokéball.

"Brock, after reading your aura I could sense that you have seen your error. There is only one thing that must be done to make it right in the eyes of Arceus." Ash then activated the Pokéball and threw it. "Xerneas, I need your help my friend." This Pokémon, unlike Yveltal, gave a very heartwarming cry upon being released and a comforting aura filled the air. "Xerneas, revive Steelix please." Xerneas's antlers began to glow brightly with every color, and Steelix was glowing the same way for a short time before began moving once again.

Brock couldn't believe his eyes. He watched as his closest friend was returned to life by Xerneas. It was an amazing sight to behold. "Ash, I-I don't know how to thank you," he said.

"You don't. You see, I only did my duty to Arceus," Ash said as he returned Xerneas to its Pokéball. His eyes flashed with aura, as if to show that he was still angry. "Now, let's be absolutely clear. We are not friends. I may forgive, but I don't forget. You will have to earn my friendship back." Before Brock could respond, Ash was already gone.

"I guess that makes sense, I swear I will try to prove that I am truly sorry for having my head up my own ass all these years. Thank you for another chance." Brock then embraced his Steelix before returning it. He then returned to his room. He would stay for the entire tournament, but only to be there for Ash. It would be a long event.

POV Change: Ash

"Well, that was almost movie-worthy," Ash thought with a chuckle. "I just hope the other traitors who will ask for forgiveness, but I won't get my hopes up." Ash walked into the Pokémon Center to see who he would be facing the next day. He smiled diabolically; he had been pitted against Max. He was going to pummel the little shit, but he personally hoped the little brat wouldn't repent in any way. The little brat had always annoyed him to the Distortion World and back. Now it was Ash's chance to kick the little bitch to the Moon and back. He also noticed that the traitors were almost all paired up with Elite Four Members, but they had been doing surprisingly well. That was when he sensed Serena approaching alone.

"What is it Serena?" he asked almost angrily when she was about to tap on his shoulder.

POV Change: Serena

"What is it Serena?" Ash asked. Serena was startled.

"How did he know I was here?" she thought.

"I detected you and read your mind with aura," Ash said. Serena knew that this was all the explanation she was going to get.

"Well, I'm waiting on an explanation. Why do you want to talk to me?"

Serena had to find the right words. "Ash, I'm sorry, but I've come to apologize as well."

Ash examined her aura, and she was being sincere, but she was carrying a deep rooted sorrow with her. "Serena, I can tell that you regret what happened all those years ago, but I will tell you what I told Brock just a few minutes ago. I will forgive, but never forget. The only reason I will revive your Delphox is because Arceus instructed me to. It has nothing to do with me. I won't trust you or be your friend until you prove to me that you truly deserve my friendship. Now, let's go outside and I will restore Delphox, then I plan on winning this tournament." With that, Ash and Serena went out to Delphox's statue where he released Xerneas. Within minutes, Delphox was once again restored to life. Serena was crying tears of joy to see her best friend and Pokémon restored to life, but Ash had had enough for one day. He was already in his hotel room when Serena noticed he was gone.

"Ash, thank you," she said, tears still in her eyes.

POV Change: Dawn

Dawn had decided to surprise Ash when he came back. She had prepared a fancy meal, and even dressed in lingerie for the night. It was going to be a great night. That was when the door opened. Dawn heard Ash walk into the room, and immediately leaned against the wall seductively. "So, how is my champion?" She said, and while Ash had been in a bad mood when he came in, his mood immediately improved upon seeing her standing there.

"Wow," he said in a surprised tone. "You planned tonight for a long time, didn't you?"

Dawn just smiled again before kissing him. "Come on, I made us dinner," She said, hoping that Ash loved food as much as he used to.

**So this one is clearly not as long as chapter 8, but I am willing to let that go, because it was an important addition. As always, reviews and suggestions for where the story should go are welcomed. I'll try to update tomorrow, but I won't promise anything because I'm a college student and my Tuesday/Thursday schedule is packed.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello everybody. I found time to once again update Ash Strikes Back. If you're wondering how I keep updating so quickly, I love creative writing and my professors are easy going when it comes to homework, so it's pretty easy to get this stuff done.**

_Max Maple_

POV: Ash

It was around noon and Ash was already on the Red Platform, and Max was on the Green Platform. "Well Max," Ash said. "Are you ready to lose horribly?" He didn't even need to ask, Ash could clearly see that Max was nervous. Hell, Max's knees were shaking like maracas.

"I'm n-n-not g-going to l-lose," Max said, but he clearly had serious doubts about this battle. Ash just chuckled. This would be easy.

"Send out your Pokémon!" called the referee.

"Go, Leafeon!" Max called out.

"Max, you already met the Pokémon I will be using twice," Ash said as he picked out his Pokéball. He also pulled what looked like a bracelet out of his pocket and put it on his right wrist. "Since you two last met, this Pokémon has become my strongest Pokémon that isn't Pikachu or a Legendary. Now, come out my friend!" The Pokéball released Ash's Charizard, who was wearing a pendant holding Charizardite X.

Ash didn't even need to read Max's aura to know that Max was thinking "Oh shit."

Ash then used his best television pitchman voice "But wait! There's more!" he called out as he hit his Mega-evolution keystone. Beams of light arched from Ash's bracelet and from Charizard's pendant. Those lights connected perfectly, causing the entire stadium fill with light. When the light dissipated, Charizard was black with a blue stomach and blue fire fangs. It was also even bigger than before.

"Max, you can save yourself the humiliation of losing horribly and forfeit now."

"NO! I WON'T GIVE UP!" Max yelled. Ash just chuckled at Max's idiocy.

"Green Platform has the first move. Begin the battle!" the referee called out.

"Leafeon, Leaf Blade!" Max commanded. Leafeon's tail extended and glowed a bright green. It then charged straight at Charizard.

"Fire Blast," Ash called out. Charizard launched the blue Fire Blast at Leafeon, who had already leapt toward Charizard and couldn't change direction in time. Leafeon shrieked in pain before it fainted. Max was terrified already.

"Leafeon is unable to battle. Green Platform, choose your next Pokémon."

"What's the matter Max? Did you just realize how screwed you are?" Ash laughed.

"N-no. I choose Gardevoir!" Max called out.

Ash gave Max a look. "Is this Gardevoir the Ralts that you saved when we traveled together?"

"It is, and she is one of my strongest Pokémon," Max said. Ash just nodded knowingly. This Pokémon was one of Max's closest friends, but that wasn't going to stop Ash from obliterating it.

"Charizard, use Shadow Wing!" Ash called. The crowd was confused.

"What the hell is Shadow Wing?" Max called out, also clearly confused.

"Just watch, you insignificant worm," Ash yelled back. That was when Charizard's claws began to glow like a Shadow Claw, and his wings glowed like Steel Wing. Charizard then concentrated, shifting the energy from the Shadow Claw to his wings. Charizard then flew directly at Gardevoir, leaving no time for her to react. Charizard's wing clipped Gardevoir with a combination of Steel and Ghost attacks, both of which were super effective against Gardevoir. The psychic Pokémon was thrown into the air where Charizard flew up, grabbed it and began a Seismic Toss without Ash having to say a word. When Gardevoir landed, it created a gigantic dust cloud and crater in the field. She fainted there.

"Gardevoir is unable to battle, Green Platform choose your next Pokémon!"

"Max, you know that this match will result in more of your Pokémon getting injured. While I wish to humiliate you, I care for the Pokémon enough to offer you the choice to surrender," Ash called out, secretly hoping Max remained stubborn.

"I WON'T GIVE UP!" Max called out. Ash just sighed, this would still be a quick match, but he still felt sorry for Max's Pokémon. "Go, Gyarados!" Max called out.

Ash was surprised at this, as training a Gyarados took a lot of skill. Max, however, was going to lose this regardless. "Charizard, use Dragon Pulse!" Ash commanded. Charizard fired a single beam of purple and green energy at Gyarados, hitting the Pokémon squarely in the face. While Gyarados is a sturdy Pokémon, not even it could withstand a direct hit from Charizard's Dragon Pulse while he was Mega Evolved. It too fainted.

"Gyarados is also unable to battle. Green Platform choose your next Pokémon," the referee called once more.

"I choose you, Arcanine!" Max called out. Ash once again chuckled as the gigantic dog appeared.

"Max, if you think that you can win in a fire vs. fire battle, I'm afraid you are sorely mistaken. Charizard, show him what I mean with Earthquake!" Charizard flew down and punched the ground hard, sending a massive shockwave outward. Arcanine was thrown severely off balance. "Now, use Blast Burn!" Ash commanded. Charizard reared back and fired what looked like a blue ball of fire the size of a watermelon. That ball touched Arcanine's nose before exploding more powerfully than military-grade explosives. Needless to say, Arcanine was out after that.

"Arcanine is unable to battle," the referee said. "Green Platform, please pick your next Pokémon."

"Go, Golem!" Max called out. Ash sighed once more.

"Max, haven't you learned your lesson by now? Golem might as well lay on its back and surrender to save me the trouble. Now, Charizard, use another Earthquake; then fire a Solarbeam to finish it off!" Ash commanded. Charizard executed the attacks perfectly, throwing Golem off-balance before launching a brilliantly white beam. Golem, who weighs almost a full ton, was thrown off its feet and it almost flew thirty feet before crashing into the ground, where it fainted.

The referee sighed, he was getting tired of saying the same thing over and over when Ash was battling, but rules are rules. "What a shock, Golem is unable to battle," said the referee, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Now, Green Platform, please pick your next Pokémon carefully this time."

POV Change: Max

Max winced at the referee's comment. He knew he was out of options as he looked at his last Pokéball for the match. He shouldn't use this Pokémon here, but he had no choice. It was either use it now, or lose to Ash embarrassingly. "Please, grant my wish my friend," Max said to the Pokéball. "Go, Jirachi!"

POV Change: Ash

Ash merely raised an eyebrow. "So, that Jirachi you befriended all those years ago is your Pokémon now? Well, then it's only fitting that one of the most powerful Chosen Pokémon of Arceus be the one to defeat it, and it will be done in only one shot. Charizard, Flamethrower!" Charizard shot a jet of blue fire directly at Jirachi. Ash then sensed a telepathic link between Max and Jirachi, and a message went between the two. That was when the star Pokémon teleported at the last moment.

"I'll admit Max, I am impressed with Jirachi. She knows how to dodge attacks like none of your other Pokémon. I guess she knew that before she was yours," Ash mocked. "Unfortunately, you forget one thing about me: I can use my aura to sense exactly where Jirachi will reappear." Max looked terrified when Ash said that. "Now, Charizard turn around and use Flamethrower!"

Just as Ash predicted, Jirachi appeared behind Charizard just in time to be engulfed in a raging blue inferno. Ash chuckled as the flames dissipated to show Jirachi on the ground, fainted.

"Aaand surprise, surprise. Jirachi is unable to battle. Charizard is the victor, which means that Ash has won the match," the referee called, his exhaustion with Ash's nonstop wins clearly getting to him. Ash just smirked as he had Charizard revert to his normal form and return to his Pokéball.

Pikachu seemed most pleased with the victory, but Ash could tell that his first Pokémon had hot blood right now and he wanted to battle. "Alright Pikachu, you will be my Pokémon of choice for the next battle," Ash said as he scratched Pikachu's chin. "The only reason I haven't used you is because I wanted to give the opponents at least a fighting chance, no matter how slight that is."

"Pika pika!" Pikachu said, clearly pleased to hear this. Ash and Pikachu were passing the petrified Pokémon when Ash heard somebody approaching, and from their aura he could tell it was May.

"ASH KETCHUM! I AM GOING TO BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID TO MAX!" said the brunette with a serious anger issue.

Ash just turned around, and glared at May, his eyes flashing with aura. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" Ash remarked, pointing toward May's Blaziken. "If I recall correctly, you and a few others challenged me to a battle at the same time, while you said similar things. I don't think I have to tell you that the result has been standing directly over there for five days now."

May recoiled at this, seeming to come to her senses. "You humiliated my brother in front of the entire world," she said, rather weakly.

Now Ash was pissed, and he spoke through aura to show it. **"HUMILIATED? YOU THINK HUMILIATION IS THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN TO HIM? YOU AND THE REST OF MY FORMER FRIENDS CAST ME OUT, AND LET MY MOTHER GET MURDERED, EVEN WITH THE KNOWLEDGE THAT I COULDN'T GET THERE TO SAVE HER. NOW TELL ME WHO REALLY HAS IT WORSE!"**

May was horrified. She had never seen Ash so angry, and she wanted nothing to do with it. She turned tail and fled, tears flying from her eyes as she sprinted to find her friends, hoping for comfort. Ash just scowled before heading back to the hotel room to relax with Dawn until her match against Misty. He was looking forward to seeing Dawn destroy the red head with an even nastier temper than May. It was going to be a great rest of the day.

**Thanks for reading this story so far, and for reviewing constantly. As always, reviews and constructive criticism are welcome, as are suggestions for where the story should go from here. Next update may not be for a couple of days due to class work.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello everybody, like I mentioned in Chapter 10, Dawn is going up against Misty in this chapter. So, enjoy!**

_When Water Falls_

POV: Dawn

Dawn was looking across the battlefield, glaring straight at Misty. She was standing on the Green Platform again. She was ready to defeat the leader of the Cerulean Gym. "Misty, are you ready to lose?" Dawn said angrily.

"Yeah right, I'm going to crush you, you blue haired bitch!" Misty called back, being as crude as ever. Dawn just smirked.

"How will you win without your Gyarados?" Dawn said, knowing this would strike a nerve. Dawn was correct. Misty cringed, showing that she still hated the fact that her Gyarados had been turned to stone.

"Choose your Pokémon!" the referee called out.

"Go, Pachirisu!" Dawn called out. The electric squirrel Pokémon appeared, joyful as can be.

"I choose Kingdra!" Misty called out.

POV Change: Ash

Ash was not surprised that Misty had a Kingdra, he knew she must have trained her Horsea since they last met. "Well, Dawn may have some trouble here," Ash thought. "But she can do it. I know she can."

POV Change: Dawn

"Green Platform has the first move. BEGIN!" called the referee.

"Pachirisu, use Quick Attack!" Dawn said, hoping to score a fast strike. Pachirisu sprinted toward Kingdra, a white streak of light coming out from behind it. Kingdra was too slow to dodge, but it was also was too sturdy to be taken down by a mere Quick Attack.

"Kingdra, use Dragon Rage!" Misty called. Kingdra shot a ball of purple dragon fire directly at Pachirisu.

"Pachirisu, dodge and use a focused Discharge," Dawn called. She was perfectly calm as she watched Pachirisu leap over the Dragon Rage and sent multiple streams of electricity directly at Kingdra. There was even less chance for Kingdra to dodge this than there was for it to dodge the Quick Attack, but it still was not enough to beat the water dragon, although it looked to have taken some damage.

"Kingdra, Ice Beam!" Misty commanded. Kingdra fired directly at Dawn, but she was not concerned, she had a way for this to work.

"Pachirisu, charge into that Ice Beam while using Discharge!" Dawn said, hoping to use a contest combination she had made so long ago: the Ice Chandelier. Pachirisu did exactly as commanded, and the Ice formed perfectly around Pachirisu. Misty was terrified as she watched the glowing ice ball continued directly toward Kingdra. The Ice Chandelier collided with Kingdra, the ice and electricity both doing severe damage to Kingdra. Kingdra cried out in pain before fainting.

"Kingdra is unable to battle! Red Platform, pick your next Pokémon!" the referee called out.

POV Change: Ash

Ash watched as Misty and Dawn went back and forth. Misty's Politoed beat Pachirisu by using a combination of Swagger and Body Slam. Misty's Politoed then lost to Dawn's Mamoswine through a simple Earthquake. Mamoswine lost to Misty's first Starmie (she had evolved her Staryu) by use of Psychic and Swift. Then Dawn sent out her powerful Togekiss, which took down both of Misty's Starmies with a Psychic and Moonblast combination, mostly because Misty was uncomfortable taking down Togekiss as it reminded her of her own Togetic which she had to give up. Then Misty came to her senses and defeated the Togekiss with her Seaking's Horn Drill, which scored a really lucky hit. Then Dawn used her Typhlosion, who won with a strong Wild Charge attack, sending Seaking into the wall.

Misty was down to her last Pokémon, and she was nervous. Her only Pokémon left was still too dense to actually fight, but without Gyarados, she really had little choice. "Go, Psyduck." Misty said her worry evident. Ash just erupted into booming laughter. Misty was truly desperate without her Gyarados. This would be over soon, so Ash just sent an aura message to Dawn to let her know the situation.

POV Change: Dawn

Dawn nodded as she heard Ash basically told her that the only thing to avoid hitting Psyduck on the head too much and she would be fine. Dawn just smiled. It would be an easy victory now.

"Typhlosion use Wild Charge again!" Dawn commanded. Typhlosion once again became shrouded in electricity as he charged at the clueless duck. Typhlosion sent Psyduck flying back, but Psyduck didn't even realize that he was being hurt, confusing Dawn. "Misty, is your Psyduck really so clueless?"

Misty just sighed. "Yeah, I'm afraid so, but that doesn't matter now. Psyduck, use Scratch!"

"Typhlosion, dodge and use Flamethrower!" Dawn said. Typhlosion did just as it was told, easily side-stepping Psyduck's attack, then scorching it with a jet of fire. Psyduck just fell back when it got hit, and it fainted there. Misty started to scream and shout at Psyduck for being completely incompetent.

POV Change: Ash

Ash was just sitting in the stands, clapping for Dawn's victory, but he noticed something different about Misty's aura, so he started to read her thoughts. It seemed her aggression was actually causing her to realize that losing her Gyarados had been the true deciding point of this match. She was realizing that Gyarados was like family to her, and when Ash had petrified Gyarados he was doing practically the same thing to her that she had done to him on his sixteenth birthday. Despite her front when she stormed out of the stadium, when she thought she was alone, Misty almost immediately burst into tears. That was when Ash sensed…Brock?

POV Change: Misty

Misty dropped to her knees as she started to sob. "What did I do? Why was I such an idiot? I was such a bitch to Ash. And he never did anything but support me and treat me like family," she said quietly, thinking nobody heard her.

"Misty, are you finally realizing that we were wrong?" said a familiar voice.

"Brock? What are you doing here?" Misty asked.

"I knew you were distressed, so I came to talk to you," Brock said as he helped Misty to her feet. They walked for a while in silence, then Brock looked at the sky, as if he was thinking of something.

"What is it Brock?" Misty asked.

"You know, I think Ash knew that we would use our favorite Pokémon when we all went to battle him. He must have used Yveltal to make us all see what we had done to him when we betrayed him. We all know that Ash considered us to be like siblings, but just because he lost at the Kalos League finals, we told him that he was pathetic and told him to never talk to us again." Misty knew Brock was already completely right, but Brock continued on. "I couldn't even think of what Ash went through when we betrayed his trust, but that was only until Steelix was petrified. It felt like I lost a part of myself when I lost Steelix, and Ash lost all eleven of us at once, including Dawn."

Now Misty truly realized the depth of the pain Ash had been in for all these years. When he petrified the Pokémon, Ash had let out a great deal of anger, but Misty knew that he wasn't done just yet. She only had to remember Ash's battles against Max, and Brock. Ash had been viciously efficient in his battles and had flat-out insulted Max repeatedly.

Just as they arrived at the Pokémon Center where the Pokémon statues were, Misty had to ask something. "What can I do to fix this?"

"Misty, honestly, the best thing you can do now is to apologize to Ash and feel it with all of your heart. Ash is willing to forgive at the least."

"Is he willing to continue our friendship?" Misty asked, sounding desperate.

"No, I'm not," Ash said as he walked up to them, Dawn right beside him.

"Ash!" Misty said in shock. "I didn't hear you coming." Ash let out an exacerbated sigh.

"Anyway, I will not restore our friendship until you have proven that you truly deserve it. Now, do you truly want to apologize to me, or can Dawn and I get back to our rooms?" Ash said, his voice showing that he was still angry at Misty.

"Ash…I-I am so sorry," Misty said as she once again started to shed tears again. "Can you please forgive me?" Ash raised an eyebrow as he read Misty's aura. She was telling him the truth.

"Fine, I'll restore Gyarados," Ash said as he let Xerneas out of her Pokéball. "Xerneas, you know what to do. Revive Gyarados this time." Xerneas once again used its power to revive Misty's Pokémon.

Gyarados looked confused briefly before seeing Misty and coming up to her and nuzzling her. Misty had tears of joy in her eyes as she hugged her friend. "Gyarados, I'm so sorry for being such an idiot. Do you forgive me?" she asked her friend. Gyarados just roared in approval.

"Come on, Dawn. We have dinner reservations in an hour and a half. We should go get ready," Ash said.

Dawn smiled. "I can't wait to see where we're going." With that, Ash and Dawn left.

Misty just watched as Ash and Dawn disappeared into the hotel. "Thank you Ash. I swear I will earn your trust back. Maybe the others will see how wrong they were," she said quietly.

Brock just smiled and placed his hand on Misty's shoulder. "I'm sure they will."

**Thanks for reading so far. I've decided that only two of Ash's former friends will have their Pokémon revived. Who will those two be? You'll have to wait to find that out. Again, reviews and suggestions are welcomed.**


	12. Chapter 12

**So, I noticed a mistake in Chapter 11's closing request. There will be two former friends who will NOT have their Pokémon revived. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

_Pikachu's Battle_

Ash and Dawn stood in the Pokémon center and watched as the match ups for the next round were listed. Ash would be facing off against Cilan, and Dawn was going to face Iris. Ash was ready to face the connoisseur, and he knew that Dawn would be able to defeat Iris with all her Ice-Type Pokémon. Their matches would be one-after-another during the evening, and Ash would be first.

"Well, this should be a surprisingly easy," Dawn said.

"Yeah, but if Cilan tries to do even one of his unbearable 'Evaluation Time' speeches, I will seriously flip out," Ash said, causing Dawn to break into laughter.

"I know what you mean, and he's gotten worse over the decade since he was made an S-rank connoisseur," Dawn remarked.

"I didn't realize that he could actually get worse," Ash said with a chuckle.

Time Skip: Three Hours; POV Change: Cilan

Cilan was worried. He knew Ash would still be pissed at him, and even without doing an evaluation, Cilan knew Ash would be in near perfect sync with his Pokémon. He sighed. "This match is a recipe for disaster, especially without Simisage." Just as he said that, the announcer came on.

"Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen, We are here for the seventh round of the Pokémon World Tournament eighth finals. Battling on the Green Platform is world-class Pokémon connoisseur and one of the three leaders of the Striaton City Gym, Cilan!" this elicited a loud round of applause. Cilan took a deep breath before walking onto the field; there was no turning back now. He was going to be humiliated, and there was nothing he could do about it. "Now, on the Red Platform, we have the trainer who has yet to lose a single Pokémon in this tournament, Ash Ketchum!" That was when the crowd erupted. They were excited to see Ash battle once again. Cilan was on his platform and Ash had just climbed the stairs to his platform.

POV Change: Ash

"Pick your Pokémon!" the referee called.

"Go, Stunfisk!" Cilan called out as he threw the Pokéball containing his electric mudfish.

"So Cilan, you want to battle electric-types? Then I choose Pikachu!" Ash called and pointed toward the field as the electric mouse ran down his arm and leapt into the air.

"Red Platform attacks first. Begin the battle!" the referee called out.

"Pikachu use ExtremeTail!" Ash called, starting with one of his combination moves. Pikachu's tail began to glow and it transformed into metal before he disappeared. He reappeared in a second directly in front of Stunfisk, spun horizontally and slammed its tail into Stunfisk's face, sending the fish careening into the stadium wall. It slumped over and fainted there.

"Stunfisk is unable to battle, Cilan pick your next Pokémon," the referee called.

"Go, Crustle!" Cilan called sending out his earth-covered hermit crab. "Crustle, use Shell Smash, and go straight into an X-Scissor!" Crustle came out from under his shell as his body glowed orange. That glow shattered like glass. Crustle's claws then glowed purple and extended to nearly one foot longer than usual.

Ash chuckled. This would be easier than expected. "Pikachu, dodge that X-Scissor and use Iron Tail again!" Just as Crustle started to swing, Pikachu moved to the side as his tail became solid metal, then Pikachu spun as fast as possible, slamming it into the crab, who flew directly back toward his shell, almost shattering it. Crustle fainted then as well.

POV Change: Cilan

"Cilan, I hope you have more Pokémon than just those two and Simisage. That would make this a really bad six-on-six battle," Ash laughed.

"I actually have. Don't forget that it's been ten years," Cilan said, but as soon as he did, he knew that he shouldn't have. Ash's eyes blazed with aura so brightly that they could be seen from across the field, and were almost as bright as LED headlights.

"**Do you think I forgot?"** Ash shouted through aura.** "I have kept track of every day since you and my other former friends betrayed me, and when you let my mother get murdered. Pikachu and I will obliterate you for that comment!"**

Now Cilan was horrified. He had stepped over the line without realizing it, and now he was going to feel the pain from it. He had no choice, though. He had to keep going in this battle. "Go, Vespiquen!" he called as he threw the Pokéball onto the field.

"**Pikachu, don't even let it attack, hit it with Thunder!"** Ash commanded, still using aura to speak. Pikachu fired an enormous bolt of lightning at Vespiquen just as the bee appeared. The electricity was so powerful that it broke the ground apart, throwing rocks into the air as it arched toward the enemy Pokémon. Vespiquen lasted a second before it collapsed. **"Send out all the Pokémon you have left, I will destroy them all at once."**

Cilan realized that Ash was dead serious. He looked to the referee, who just nodded as if approving Ash's request. Cilan threw three Pokéballs at once. "Go, Unfezant, Jynx, and Audino!" There was a pheasant-like Pokémon, a Pokémon that looked almost like a human woman who had way too much cosmetic surgery, and a pink bipedal cow-like Pokémon. Ash just laughed. This was too easy.

**"Pikachu, use your most powerful Thunder!"** Ash commanded.

"PIIIKAAACHUUUU!" Pikachu cried as it unleashed such a powerful burst of lightening that the entire field was covered in it. The field practically exploded as a layer of the ground was vaporized. None of Cilan's Pokémon survived the blast, and the entire crowd was silent.

**"Now, don't ever think that I have forgotten the pain that you caused me all those years ago,"** Ash said once again as he left his platform and Pikachu rejoined him. **"By the way, Scott! You may want to repair the battlefield."**

POV Change: Scott

The sunglasses donning, Hawaiian shirt wearing Pokémon tournament organizer laughed. Scott saw that the crowd was just as shocked as Cilan's Pokémon, and he had to admit that even he hadn't predicted how powerful Pikachu had become. At the same time, he never thought that Ash would have been so comical about this whole event. Scott wasn't worried. Besides, that battlefield was not the only one. Scott had designed the stadium with ten battlefields that could be rotated between battles if needed.

POV Change: Cilan

Cilan sat beside his petrified Simisage. "Hey buddy. I lost. I guess Ash had every right to beat me as badly as he did, but perhaps I can use this defeat to once again prepare the recipe that made Ash and me friends."

"That's one recipe that will take a much longer time to make a second time around Cilan," said a very familiar voice. Cilan turned around.

"Ash? What are you doing here?" Cilan asked.

"I sensed your regret. Do you really regret what happened all those years ago?" Ash asked, surprisingly calm compared to when they just battled mere moments ago.

Cilan was shocked. He thought about it before he answered. "Ash, I know you won't forgive me entirely. I was an S-class asshole to you when you had treated me like a brother. Please, at least give me the chance to rekindle our friendship."

Ash smiled. "I accept your apology, but our friendship will not be there until you prove yourself fully. Now, Xerneas, come out and revive Simisage," he called as he sent out the deer-like legendary Pokémon of life. With a glow, Simisage came back to life.

"Sim-simisage?" it said, clearly confused.

"Simisage, you're alive!" Cilan said as he hugged his Pokémon.

"Well, I'm off. Dawn's match against Iris starts in a few minutes," Ash said.

"Mind if I come along Ash?" Cilan asked.

Ash now truly looked happy for the first time in a while except for when he was with Dawn. "Of course, let's go before the good seats are gone in the stadium," Ash said with a grin.

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I felt that Cilan was the most sophisticated, polite and intelligent of Ash's former friends, so I thought he would be the first one to make a conscious effort to repair his friendship with Ash. Again, reviews and suggestions are welcome. Just be sure to be completely caught up before suggesting where the story should go.**


	13. Chapter 13

**I just now noticed that I wrote that it was the quarter finals of the tournament in Chapter 12. It is supposed to be the eighth finals. That has been corrected. I hope you enjoy this chapter of Ash Strikes Back. **

_The Dragon Master Falls_

POV: Dawn

Dawn was pacing as she awaited her call to the battlefield. She didn't have to wait long. "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the final battle of the eighth finals. Now, please welcome the trainer from the Village of Dragons, she will be on the Red Platform, Iris!" the announcer called out. The crowd was ecstatic. "Next we have world-class coordinator from Twinleaf Town, Dawn!"

Dawn strode out to the field confidently. She suddenly felt like another familiar presence had entered her mind. **"Dawn, remember that Iris uses Dragon-types almost exclusively now,"** Ash's voice echoed in her mind, and it sounded like aura. **"Aside from dragons, she has Excadrill and Emolga. Use any ice-type to deal with her,"** Ash said.

Dawn just nodded. She had recently found out that Ash could communicate through mental aura links, but it was mostly because Ash had often unintentionally created them with her while they slept, allowing Dawn to see his dreams. Some of those dreams revolved either around her, more were about either the betrayal, his raids against the criminal organizations, but the most were about his mother. These links had even allowed Dawn to see just how much pain Ash was in almost all the time, even now. She also saw that this pain was directly connected to the fact that all of his human friends had betrayed him as well as his immeasurable guilt for not being there to save Delia.

Dawn also saw that, more than anything, Ash wanted to restore his friendships with those who had been close to him all those years ago. Unfortunately, in order to prevent being hurt, Ash was keeping those he forgave at a distance. Dawn looked to Ash as she approached the platform and she was shocked to see Ash sitting next to Cilan. Just before the link was disconnected, Dawn saw that Cilan had already repented and had immediately started trying to repair his friendship with Ash. Dawn smiled, she didn't need to read Ash's mind to see that his pain was starting to be alleviated already.

"Iris, I hope you understand that this is your last official battle in this tournament," Dawn said, with evident anger.

"Dawn, I don't know who you think you're fooling, but I am too strong for you," Iris said. "I swear, you and Ash are still little kids."

"Pick your Pokémon now!" the referee called out.

"Go, Dragonite!" Iris called.

"Go, Mamoswine!" Dawn called. She saw that Iris's typical fear of Ice-types was still there.

"Dawn has the first attack. Begin the battle!" the referee called.

"Mamoswine, Hail!" Dawn immediately ordered. Mamoswine roared its name as storm clouds formed and hail started to fall.

"Dragonite, use Dragon Claw!" Iris called out. Dragonite flew directly at Mamoswine, his claws glowing blue-green. Just before the attack landed, Dawn gave her next command.

"Mamoswine, Blizzard Beam!" she had been working on this attack combination with Mamoswine for a while. Mamoswine gathered what looked like an Ice Beam, but when it fired, the beams were surrounded by swirling ice and snow. It was a combination of two of the most powerful ice-type attacks, and the effect was devastating to Dragonite. The dragon froze solid almost immediately before crashing into the ground. The ice shattered and Dragonite slid across the ground until it came to a stop at Mamoswine's feet, where it fainted.

"Dragonite is unable to continue. Iris, pick your next Pokémon," called the referee.

"I choose Excadrill!" Iris called out, sending out her drill mole Pokémon. "Excadrill, use Dig!"

"Mamoswine, use Earthquake," Dawn commanded. Mamoswine followed orders perfectly. As the ground shook, Excadrill could be heard crying in pain. It only had enough energy to drill back to the surface before it fainted.

"Excadrill is unable to battle. Iris, please choose your next Pokémon," called the referee.

"Go, Emolga!" Iris called out, sending out the electrical, flying squirrel-like Pokémon. It tried to be charming to win affections from the crowd, but Dawn didn't let that last.

"Mamoswine, use Ice Shard now!" Dawn said. Mamoswine shot a gigantic ball of ice directly at Emolga.

"Emolga, dodge and use Discharge!" Iris called, making a rookie mistake by using an electric attack on Mamoswine, a ground-type. The electricity struck Mamoswine, who looked like he was completely unfazed by the electricity. Dawn just laughed.

"It seems you're the little kid! You should know that ground-types are immune to electric attacks," Dawn said. "Mamoswine, Blizzard!"

Emolga was flying when it got frozen solid from the snow and wind attack. As soon as the ice was done forming, Emolga dropped like a rock. When it landed, the ice shattered and Emolga had already fainted. "Emolga is unable to battle. Iris, please pick your next Pokémon."

Iris was worried, she had two Pokémon left: a Druddigon, and a Garchomp. Both would likely lose, and even if they didn't Dawn had more ice-types than just Mamoswine. So she made a snap decision. "Go Druddigon!"

The spiny dragon appeared, but Dawn just sighed. "Use Blizzard again," she said. Mamoswine shot out an attack of swirling ice and snow, which immediately froze Druddigon. "Now, use Take Down!" Dawn said. Mamoswine charged and when it hit Druddigon, the ice shattered. Druddigon flew into the wall, where it fainted.

"Druddigon is unable to battle. Iris, please choose your last Pokémon," the referee said.

"Go, Garchomp!" she called. She hoped this Pokémon would emulate Cynthia's Garchomp, but she wasn't sure.

Dawn just looked exhausted. "Mamoswine, use another Blizzard Beam!" she called. The Ice Beam-Blizzard combination fired, but Garchomp dodged expertly.

"Great dodge Garchomp, now use Flamethrower," Iris said. Garchomp launched a jet of flames directly at Mamoswine.

"Mamoswine, Endure!" Mamoswine appeared to be bracing itself when the Flamethrower struck. When the Flamethrower ended, Mamoswine was still standing. "Great job, now use Blizzard and follow it up with Ice Shard." Mamoswine followed the orders perfectly. Garchomp tried to dodge the Blizzard, but ended up running head-on into the Ice Shard. It collapsed after that hit.

"Garchomp is unable to battle. Dawn is the winner!"

"What an amazing battle for Dawn," the announcer said excitedly. "It seems she is taking after Ketchum because she didn't lose a single Pokémon in that battle. Congratulations Dawn, and good luck in the quarter finals!"

POV Change: Iris

Iris was on the verge of tears as she fell to her knees. She hadn't just lost, she had been absolutely humiliated, and by Dawn no less. She was furious, morose, and confused all at the same time. She knew her Haxorous would have helped her at least get one victory in this match. What was worse was the fact that she couldn't even converse with her closest friend about her loss. She was lost without Haxorous by her side. That was when Cilan came out of the stands with Ash, and came over to her (Ash was with Dawn). Cilan put his arm around Iris and helped her up. "You know, Iris, I know what you're thinking now. I went through the same thing just hours ago. If you just apologize to Ash, and you mean it sincerely, he will revive your Haxorous," Cilan said.

"How do you know?" Iris said. Cilan took out a Pokéball and sent out his Simisage.

"He did the same for Simisage just before your battle started," Cilan said. Iris would have been shocked, but she knew that he was right. She had needlessly gone along with the plan ten years ago, and had thrown away the friendship of the one who had been like her brother, and had taught her how to be a better Pokémon trainer. "Come on, we need to go for a walk," Cilan said as he led Iris out of the stadium.

They walked for a while, and Iris didn't fully know where they were going until she saw the petrified Pokémon. She was surprised to see that four of the Pokémon that had been there were now gone. She then noticed May and Max were both by their Pokémon, and they were both crying. "So, it seems that all of you want to ask me for forgiveness," Ash said, once again coming out of nowhere with Dawn next to him. This caused May, Max, and Iris to all jump.

"Ash, how the hell do you keep sneaking up on us?" Cilan said.

"Years of practice at going undetected until I want to be found," Ash said. "But I was asking May, Max, and Iris a question. Do you truly want to repent?"

"I know I do," May said without hesitation, she looked like she had become an emotional wreck since her loss to Dawn, and Max didn't look much better.

"Ash, please restore Sceptile. I swear that I want to make things right with you," Max begged. Then Ash looked to Iris, who was still thinking.

"Ash, I am really sorry. I have been a heartless bitch. I never deserved a friend like you," Iris said, tears starting to flow freely.

POV Change: Ash

Ash closed his eyes as he read the aura of Iris, May, and Max. They were all telling the truth. He also saw that Dawn seemed a little happier than usual, but he would ask about that later. Ash took out Xerneas's Pokéball and called for the Pokémon. "Xerneas, please restore Blaziken, Sceptile, and Haxorous," Ash said. Xerneas obeyed perfectly, and soon those three Pokémon were alive again.

"Ash, thank you," Max said, as the girls were crying too hard to say anything.

"Now, I said this before, and I will say it again. You are not entirely forgiven. You must earn my trust back before we are friends once more," Ash said to all of them. "Cilan was the only one so far to take action towards that, so you may wish to follow his lead."

"I wasn't expecting anything more than that," Max said.

"By the way, something has been troubling me, and now that most of my betrayers have repented, it seems like it's a good time to ask. Who initiated the idea for all of you to betray me?" Ash asked.

All who were there looked at each other as if think about whether to tell Ash who it was, then Cilan came forward. "It was Trip who came up with the idea originally," he said.

**Well, there you go. Trip is the one who convinced the others to betray Ash. I've decided on the order of Ash's opponents. It will be Gary in the quarter finals, Paul in the semis, and Trip in the finals. Ash will be using Legendaries all three rounds. Thanks for all your support. Reviews are still welcome, but please limit suggestions to what Pokémon the rivals should use in their battles with Ash.**


	14. Chapter 14

_The Quarter Finals_

Ash and Dawn were in the Pokémon Center once again, waiting for the match ups. The others who had repented were trying harder to repair their friendships already. While none of them actually were in the tournament anymore, they wanted to see who Ash and Dawn would be facing. They didn't have to wait long. Trip was against a random trainer, which he was going to win. Then came Grimsley from Unova, and Glacia from Hoenn, it would be an interesting match, but nobody really had a favorite for that match. It was going to be Ash against Gary, and Dawn against Paul. Ash was concerned for Dawn. He knew Paul would be ruthless as always, and he was going to be even worse since Dawn had dumped him for Ash.

"Well Ash, it seems that you get to beat your first rival after all this time," Brock said. Ash just nodded. It would be an interesting day of battles.

Time Skip: 4 hours

Ash was in the tunnel, leaning against the wall to await his call. It was just about time. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we have got a treat for you! This will be a battle between two Pallet Town trainers. On the Green Platform is the Pokémon researcher and the grandson of the legendary Professor Samuel Oak, it's Gary Oak!" the announcer paused for the applause. "Now on the Red Platform, it is the now legendary Pokémon trainer. It's Ash Ketchum!" The crowd went absolutely nuts for Ash. They didn't realize just what Ash had in store for them today.

When both Pallet Town natives were on their respective platforms, Ash already had his first Pokémon picked out, its Pokéball in his hand. He also decided that he would be switching Pokémon halfway through, not that he needed to. Rather, he felt these two should share a battle today.

"Choose your Pokémon!" the referee called out.

"Go, Nidoking!" Gary called out. Ash started laughing.

"Gary, I should ask you. Do you stand up for your ideals? If you don't, then you will never beat me. Now, I choose you my friend!" It had been a while since Ash had used a Pokémon as strong as this. The audience was in as much shock as they had been when Ash had used Mewtwo. This Pokémon shouldn't be real, yet there it was.

POV Change: Gary

"No, how does Ash have so many Legendary Pokémon?" Gary thought as he looked directly at Zekrom, the electric dragon Pokémon. Ash laughed as if he had read Gary's mind, which he had.

"Isn't the answer obvious, Gary? I am the Chosen One! I have befriended every Legendary Pokémon in the world," Ash called out. Gary had heard Ash speak of this when he had petrified Blastoise with Yveltal. He just didn't listen, thinking it was just bullshit.

"Gary has the first attack. Begin the match!" the referee called.

Gary shook himself out of his daze. "Nidoking, Earthquake!"

"Zekrom, get in the air, and use Dragon Pulse!" Ash said. Just as Nidoking stomped on the ground and sent a shockwave out, Zekrom took flight. Nidoking's attack had no effect on Zekrom, that was when the legendary dragon shot out a stream of purple and green energy directly at Nidoking, who had no time to dodge. Nidoking was knocked out immediately.

POV Change: Dawn

Dawn, who was sitting not too far from those whose Pokémon had been restored, saw that Iris was infatuated. Iris adored dragon-types, Zekrom and Reshiram above all others, except maybe Kyurem. They watched in silence as Ash not only swept through Gary's Umbreon, and his Arcanine, both without Zekrom taking a single hit, using Fusion Bolt and Bolt Strike respectively. They were shocked, however, when they saw Ash recall Zekrom after the third Pokémon.

They then heard Ash speak once more. "Gary, I must now ask. Do you understand truth? If you don't you will surely lose the next three rounds as well. GO!" Ash called out. Iris was once again enthralled, because there before her was Reshiram.

POV Change: Gary

"Shit, shit, shit, shit!" Gary thought. He was terrified once again. Despite the chilling breeze, Gary was sweating. Zekrom had been trouble enough. Now he had to battle Reshiram, who was equally powerful. This would be a humiliating defeat.

"Go, Golem!" Gary called out. He hoped this would be enough. "Use Stone Edge!"

"Fusion Flare!" Ash called out. Reshiram's tail glowed orange before the dragon launched a gigantic ball of fire directly at Golem, who roared in pain. Even with a strong resistance to fire, Golem fainted. "Now you realize how much shit you've gotten yourself into, Gary Motherfucking Oak," Ash yelled to his former rival and neighbor.

Gary was pissed. Nobody had ever called him that and gotten away with it, but Ash was about to do just that. "Golem, return. Go, Electivire!" he called as he sent out the gigantic electric hair ball.

"Reshiram, use Fusion Flare once more!" Reshiram did as commanded, engulfing Electivire in flames, scorching off as much hair as possible. Electivire once again, didn't survive. "Great job Reshiram. One more to go," Ash said.

"Go, Bastiodon!" Gary called. He knew there was no chance to win, even with Bastiodon's defenses.

"Reshiram, finish this with Blue Flare!" Ash commanded. Reshiram fired a blue ball of fire, much like Blast Burn from Charizard, but it looked more menacing for some reason. The attack hit Bastiodon and erupted outwards. The fire was so hot that Bastiodon was left glowing white after it cleared, and the shield Pokémon fell.

"Bastiodon is unable to battle, Ash Ketchum has won the battle!" the referee called out. The crowd went absolutely nuts. They had witnessed the power of two legendary Pokémon in one battle. Ash returned his Pokémon and walked off. Gary was still in shock.

Time Skip: 2 hours

Gary was with his Blastoise statue, vehemently apologizing for once again losing to Ash. He was so ashamed of himself that he soon came to his own realization that he had been an absolute douche (not during the Indigo League season). He reached into his pocket, and pulled out the half of the Pokéball from all those years ago, and realized that while Ash had been stupid at times, he had been a genuine friend and rival.

"So, you still have that half of the Pokéball after all these years?" Ash said, startling Gary.

"Ash, you've got to stop doing that to people. One of these days you'll give somebody a heart attack," Gary said with a chuckle. He then looked at the Pokéball half. "Yeah, I still have it. I could just never make myself get rid of it."

Ash smiled and reached into his pocket. "I still have mine too," he said as he pulled out the rusted Pokéball half. "I can already tell that you are indeed sorry for listening to Trip and betraying me."

"How did you know Trip came up with the plan?" Gary asked.

"Cilan told me," Ash said. "Now, I want to hear you admit that you were wrong."

Gary had seen this coming. Despite all these years, Ash still wanted to show that he was better than Gary. "I guess he held onto some of his childish ways," he thought. "Ash, you know that I was an absolute asshole to you. You and I had been best friends and rivals for years, yet I let some snot-nosed little Unova punk talk me into betraying you. I was wrong."

"Thank you for swallowing your pride Gary, just realize there will be more work involved in restoring our friendship. Xerneas, I require your assistance once more," Ash called out. "Xerneas, please restore Blastoise to life." Xerneas did not hesitate, as it seemed to enjoy this type of work. Soon Blastoise was moving around once more and Gary was overjoyed.

"Now, I must go. Dawn's match starts soon," Ash said as he departed.

"Sounds good," Gary said as he accompanied Ash to the stadium. "I hope she destroys Paul!"

Ash was a little concerned for Dawn. "I just hope she is up to it," he said.

**Thanks for reading this newest chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. As always, reviews are welcomed. As for suggestions, since it is no secret that this story is going to end soon, feel free to suggest the topic of my next story. I am open to most Pokémon-based storylines, just no crossovers. I am currently coming up with a story about the son of Jessie and James who becomes Giovanni's right hand man, but secretly works to help Red take down the organization. Let me know what you think.**


	15. Chapter 15

_Darkness Falls Before the Dawn_

POV: Dawn

There were not too many battles that caused Dawn to get nervous. This was one of those battles. She would be facing her ex-boyfriend, and he had always been ruthless, but he would now be even worse. She was terrified about what Paul would do to her Pokémon in this battle.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is now time for our next quarter final battle. On the Red Platform, the hard hitter from Veilstone City, Paul!" the announcer said. "And on the Green Platform, we have the coordinating beauty from Twinleaf Town, Dawn!" Dawn kind of blushed. She had never thought that the announcer would call her a beauty, but she was flattered that he had, but she wouldn't let that get her distracted. Dawn walked out onto the field, ready to battle her ex-boyfriend. When she got on her platform, she could see Paul was already on his, and he was glaring at her hard.

"Well, it seems that the stupid whore is here. I thought you'd be riding on Ash all the way to the top," Paul said bitterly. Dawn was taken aback. She noticed Ash's presence in her mind. He wasn't saying anything; he was just listening through her ears. Dawn, however, could tell that Ash's anger had come to a simmer, but it was slowly becoming a boil. Dawn, who had slowly learned to communicate with Ash through his aura links. **"Ash, please, calm down. I can deal with this."** Dawn thought, but Ash was hardly listening.

**"Dawn, nobody insults my girlfriend for any reason. I'm going to keep listening through you, and if I hear him insult you once more, I may very well kill him."** Ash communicated back.

Dawn nodded. She realized that Ash would be protective no matter what, so she didn't object. She also thought that she could possibly have Ash help her when she battled, but as soon as she thought that, she heard Ash mentally chuckle. **"Dawn, that would be cheating. I can't help you, but I will be sure to keep a close eye on the match. If Paul goes too far, I will stop him with aura,"** Ash projected.

"Paul, you were always an asshole. You know that ending our relationship had nothing to do with Ash," Dawn said with a sly grin. "I broke up with you because you were an absolute asshole." This this made the crowd go 'Ooooooh!' and one person even yelled 'BURN!' Ash just mentally chuckled.

"Hey, save your personal arguments for after the battle!" the referee called out. "Now, pick your Pokémon!"

"Ursaring, stand-by for battle!" Paul called out, using his usual command as he sent out the big brown bear Pokémon.

"Lopunny, Spotlight!" Dawn called. Her bunny Pokémon was out and ready to battle.

Paul smirked as the referee began the battle. "Ursaring, Hammer Arm now!" Ursaring's arms began to glow white as he sprinted over to Lopunny, the arm struck too fast for Dawn to give a command to counter. She watched in horror as her Lopunny was driven into the stadium walls, where it fainted with just one attack.

"Lopunny, return!" Dawn said. "Now, I choose you, Togekiss!" She could sense Ash was deeply concerned. She hoped to put Ash at ease and defeat one of Paul's Pokémon.

"Ursaring, return! Drapion, stand-by for battle!" Paul said, sending out the gigantic scorpion Pokémon. "I guarantee that you will not be able to defeat a single one of my Pokémon, you stupid whore. Now, Drapion, grab that Togekiss with your tail, and use Cross Poison!" Paul commanded.

"Togekiss, get away and use Moonblast!" Dawn commanded. Togekiss did as she was told, firing a ball of fairy energy at Drapion, but the attack did very little damage. Drapion then leapt into the air and grabbed her with his tail. When they landed, Drapion turned its head, crossed its arms, which began to glow purple before he swung his claws. The resulting poison X flew directly into Togekiss. Drapion dropped its tail just as Cross Poison hit, and Togekiss was launched back toward Paul's platform. It collapsed there.

"Togekiss is unable to battle! Dawn, please pick your next Pokémon!"

"Mamoswine, GO!" Dawn called.

""Return Drapion!" Paul commanded. "Magmortar, stand by for battle!"

Dawn was horrified. Paul was just responding to her Pokémon choices, and he was doing it all out of spite. **"Dawn, remember that you can use rock and ground attacks to beat Magmortar,"** Ash thought to her.

**"I thought that you said that you helping me would be cheating,"** Dawn projected.

**"I did, but Paul is actually trying to severely hurt your Pokémon,"** Ash responded.

"Mamoswine, use Stone Quake!" Dawn commanded, ordering Mamoswine's other combo moves. It created an earthquake, but just as the earthquake ended and threw Magmortar off-balance, multiple stone spears shot out from under Magmortar. Magmortar got hit hard. The flame golem was hurt, but not down.

"Magmortar, Flamethrower!" Paul commanded. Magmortar responded in perfect sync with two flames being shot directly at Mamoswine. The poor ice Pokémon was scorched and defeated.

POV Change:

Ash watched in horror from the front row of the stadium and growing anger as Paul defeated the rest of Dawn's Pokémon. He became increasingly brutal, and Ash realized that the referee wasn't even paying attention to how dangerously Paul was battling. It was when Dawn had only her Piplup left, and Paul was using his Electivire. Piplup had been hurt severely, and was about to collapse. The referee didn't call the match, so Paul decided to use the one attack that had the potential to kill Piplup: Thunder.

Ash couldn't let this go any longer. He leapt out of the stands and onto the field. It stood directly in between the Thunder and Piplup. He threw up an aura shield, blocking all of the electricity. Ash looked back, Piplup had fainted, but Dawn had a horrified expression. When the electricity dissipated, the entire stadium looked on in awe. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I have never seen anything like this, it seems that Ash has run onto the field to protect Piplup, but he's miraculously unharmed," the announcer said in a surprised tone.

Ash spoke through aura, his entire body now glowing blue with aura and spoke through his aura to make his point clear. **"Paul, this has gone too far. You have already won. Just look at Piplup! He was already down when you gave that last command. Were you honestly going to murder Piplup because Dawn decided not to be with you? You don't deserve to have your Torterra revived; hell you don't even deserve to be a Pokémon trainer. Even if you apologize, I will never restore your Pokémon."** With that, Ash's aura dissipated as he picked up Piplup and walked over to Dawn.

"Dawn, I'm sorry about your loss," Ash said.

"It's okay Ash, this way we won't have to battle each other in the finals," Dawn said with a wink as she took Piplup from Ash's hands. "Just promise me one thing."

"What is that?" Ash asked.

"Use whatever legendary Pokémon you haven't used yet when you battle those assholes," Dawn said.

Ash smiled diabolically, and then glared at Paul. "You bet! I may even use some of the others that I have already used."

Dawn just grinned before turning Ash to her as she planted a passionate kiss on Ash's lips. When she broke it off she whispered "Thank you for saving Piplup. Now, that we are done with battles for today, and since the match ups won't be posted until tomorrow, let's go back to the hotel room for a while." Ash smiled, he couldn't resist the offer.

**Thanks for reading this far. There are only two chapters left to go, so please enjoy the story as much as you can. Then, please suggest future storylines.**


	16. Chapter 16

_Paul's Test of Purity_

Ash and Dawn were in the Pokémon Center, and they were awaiting the semi-final match ups. Dawn had Eevee in her arms, holding the Pokémon, which had grown a lot since she got it, closely. This would be the final time they would be pairing up, and it would be interesting. They had been waiting for a few minutes now, and their patience was rewarded. Ash saw that the last no-name trainer was against Trip. That left Ash to face Paul. Ash grinned diabolically. Paul had nearly killed Piplup, and it was time for him to face the true test of how pure his heart and soul truly were. Ash must have been getting too evil of a look on his face, because Dawn grabbed his shoulder. "Ash, please stop that. You're scaring me a little," she said.

Ash shook himself out of his daze. "Sorry Dawn, I just came up with my battle plan for today. Paul is going to get crushed today."

"So who do you plan on using?" Dawn asked.

Ash looked at her, tapped her nose lightly with a smile. "If I told you that, it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?" he said. Dawn just smiled, she knew that this would be a great surprise as she pet Eevee.

Time Skip: 2 hours

It was high noon. Trip's battle had just finished, and Trip had come out on top. Ash was now on the Green Platform, Paul was on the Red Platform. Ash once again chose to use a Legendary Pokémon. It was one that he held close to his heart, and one that had guided him through his journey repeatedly.

Ash was ready to battle as the referee raised his arms and said "Pick your Pokémon!"

Paul threw out his first Pokéball. "Gliscor, stand-by for battle!" he called out.

Ash held his Pokéball up to his face with his eyes closed. A minute later, Ash's whole body was shrouded in aura, making his cloak fly back. He opened his eyes and they were glowing with aura. That was when he spoke through aura** "Paul, do you know the legends of the Johto region?"**

"Yeah, I know them, but what does that have to do with anything right now?" Paul asked.

** "A great deal, as luck would have it. There is one legend in particular that I wish to elaborate on before I send out my Pokémon. It's a story about the Pokémon of rainbow colors, Ho-oh. You see, Ho-oh, and the legendary beasts of Johto test the purity of the hearts of humans. If you aren't pure of heart, you will never be able to defeat or capture Ho-oh, Entei, Suicune, or Raikou."** Ash said

"Yeah, I know all of that," Paul said in his typical tone of voice. "Let me ask once more, what the hell does that have to do with what is going on now?"

**"Ok, I'll skip to the ending," **Ash said with a laugh. **"And that's where I say that I saw this Pokémon on my first day as a trainer, and she has tested my heart and allowed me to capture her. Now, come forth my friend. I need your assistance."**

Paul's eyes got really wide and the whole audience gasped. Ash had once again sent out a Pokémon which shouldn't exist. It hadn't been seen for centuries, but now it was present in this stadium.

"No," Paul said. "This isn't possible." As soon as he said this, Ho-oh glared at him.

**"Well Paul, it seems that you have failed the test of character. You will not win this battle, no matter what,"** Ash said.

The referee once again looked like he had seen a ghost. "B-b-begin the battle."

**"Ho-oh, use Sacred Fire!"** Ash commanded. Ho-oh shot a dazzling stream of flames directly at Gliscor. Those flames glowed with every color of the rainbow, and burned hotter than any Flamethrower or Fire Blast ever could. Gliscor was entirely engulfed in the flames, shrieking in such pain that it made the crowd wince in pain collectively. The flames dissipated, and Gliscor was lying on the scorched ground. **"What a shame. I remember when you caught that Gliscor. You thought it was so powerful that you caught it, now it looks about as strong as a piece of charcoal,"** Ash said with clear disdain in his voice.

"Gliscor, return. Now, Drapion stand by for battle!" Paul commanded.

**"Drapion? That is your great hope for defeating Ho-oh?"** Ash laughed. **"You really are an idiot aren't you? Ho-oh, use Ancient Quake,"** this was another combination attack that Ash had created, and it was one of the strongest he had designed. Ho-oh's body glowed gold as the ground began to quake and glow with a silver sheen. Drapion looked terrified as the ground suddenly erupted around him, becoming a perfect sphere. The ball itself began shaking horribly as it levitated. After a full minute of relentless quaking, the ball of rock fell apart. Drapion was down and out.

"Drapion is unable to battle. Paul, select your next Pokémon," the referee called.

**"Save yourself the embarrassment and just give up, you pathetic excuse for a trainer,"** Ash said, turning Paul's own favorite adjective against him.

Paul was pissed off. Ho-oh was annihilating him. He still couldn't give in. "Ursaring, stand by for battle!" Paul called out. The bear was ready to battle. At least until it saw its opponent. Ursaring was on the verge of turning tail and fleeing at the sight of Ho-oh.

**"Paul, it looks like your little teddy bear is a bit scared. Let me give him every reason why he should be. Ho-oh, just use a Sacred Fire Blast!"** Ash commanded, calling for another combination move. The fire shot out with the same heat and intensity as a Sacred Fire, but it took on the shape of a Fire Blast. What really concerned Paul was the size of the blast. It was as large as the battlefield. Ursaring had no chance to even flinch as the flames erupted around him.

"SHIT!" Paul thought. He was running out of options here. How would he defeat such a powerful, and well-trained Pokémon?

**"To answer your thoughts, you don't. You could cower in fear, or you could make a valiant, yet vain effort to battle her,"** Ash commented. When he saw Paul's worried face he laughed again. **"What? Did you forget that I can read your mind through Aura? I am an Aura Guardian. I can read your life like an open book. Care for me to elaborate? Or shall we continue the battle?"**

Paul was worried. He hadn't predicted Ash using Ho-oh, but he might have Pokémon to counter it. "Electivire, stand by for battle!" he called.

**"Ho-oh, use Sacred Fire again!"** Ash commanded. With a blast of rainbow fire immediately after Electivire appeared, the battle didn't last long at all. Electivire was engulfed. It shrieked in pain and collapsed. **"Paul, just forfeit and save yourself the embarrassment."**

"No. I will defeat Ho-oh if it's the last thing I do," Paul said. "Aggron, stand by for battle!" Paul's steel dinosaur-like Pokémon came out, but it was not to last long.

Ash sighed. This was getting old. **"Ho-oh, Sacred Fire once more!"** With the blast of rainbow-colored flames, Aggron was torched, and it was almost red-hot within only a few seconds, and white-hot not long after. **"Now, use Hurricane to cool it off."** Ho-oh beat her wings, kicking up such a powerful wind that Aggron swiftly cooled off, large cracks appearing on Aggron's body. The steel Pokémon fell, unable to keep fighting.

"Aggron return. Now, Magmortar! Stand by for battle!" Paul called out as he sent out his last Pokémon: Magmortar.

**"Ho-oh. Use an Ancient Quake again. It's past time for my afternoon nap to begin,"** Ash commanded. Once again, the Ancient Quake went perfectly. Magmortar fell within a minute and the referee called the match.

"Paul has no more Pokémon who are able to battle. Ash Ketchum is the victor!" the referee called. Ash's aura remained around him as he scanned the audience for Trip. **"Trip, I have been restraining myself until now. Let me warn you that I will not hold anything back in our match tomorrow. You will feel the full wrath of Arceus for swaying the others to betray me. Prepare yourself, for when I am done with you, you shall know pain beyond your comprehension!"** With that, Ash departed the stadium, leaving a stunned audience.

**Thanks for reading so far. Next chapter will end Ash Strikes Back, so I promise to make it as epic as possible. As always, reviews and suggestions are welcome.**


	17. Chapter 17

_Trip falls to Ash_

It was noon the next day, and the weather was bright and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Ash and Trip were on their platforms, and both were ready to battle. Ash had decided that he would use all of his legendary Pokémon in this battle. Ash was determined to defeat Trip more than any opponents thus far.

"Pick your Pokémon!" the referee called.

"Go, Vanilluxe," Trip said. Out came the ice cream Pokémon.

Ash once again began the gather his aura. Today's match would be unlike any other. Suddenly, dark storm clouds appeared. These were unlike any other storm clouds the audience had seen before. They were not only ominous, they had an almost red and purple hue (think the storm clouds from _Mewtwo Strikes Back_), but there was neither rain nor lightning. "Folks, I don't know what to think. I have never seen storm clouds like this, I don't even know where they came from!" the announcer said. The lights began to turn on, but they only barely lit., leaving the field dramatically dark. That was when Ash's whole body was once again shrouded in aura and Ash spoke through his aura. **"Trip, I don't know why you chose to betray me, and I don't care. Instead of inquiring about it, I will just crush all of your Pokémon. Now, I think you'll remember this Pokémon from a few days ago. Come out my friend!"** Ash called. The audience was expecting this Pokémon this time around. It was Mewtwo.

**"Mewtwo, Psychic!"** Ash commanded. Immediately Vanilluxe was gripped with Psychic powers. Mewtwo showed no mercy and chose to crush the ice dish rather than throw the Pokémon. Vanilluxe fell to the ground, the ice dish was just a powder.

"Vanilluxe is unable to battle. Trip, select your next Pokémon," said the referee.

"Go, Conkeldurr!" Trip said.

**"Mewtwo, that's enough for today. Return!"** the whole audience gasped. It had only been one battle, what could Ash be thinking. **"Now, I choose you, Xerneas!"** Now the air was filled a warm aura, but Ash wasn't about to let Trip be lured into a sense of tranquility. **"Xerneas, use Geomancy then go fire a Moonblast,"** Ash commanded. Xerneas's whole body began to glow before it fired a ball of fairy aura at Conkeldurr. The pillar-holding fighter didn't stand a chance. It collapsed immediately.

"Conkeldurr, return now! Go, Chandelure!" Trip called out.

Ash chuckled. **"Thank you Xerneas, please return."** Once again, the audience was confused. Ash was switching out a legendary Pokémon once again. **"Now, come forth my friend!" ** Out came Zekrom. That was when a gigantic bolt of lightning flashed behind the dragon, illuminating the stadium enough for the audience to get a good look at the jet-black Pokémon.

Trip was horrified. He had figured it out. Ash was using every legendary Pokémon he had in his possession, and he knew that one of those Pokémon was Yveltal. He really didn't want to face that Pokémon again.

**"Zekrom, Fusion Bolt!"** Ash said. Zekrom's tail began to glow blue and the air filled with the scent of ozone. Zekrom then shot a gigantic ball of electricity directly at Chandelure. The ghostly lamp was zapped with electricity stronger than twelve lightning bolts. It fell hard and fainted immediately

"Return Chandelure. Now, I choose Unfezant!" Trip said

**"Great job Zekrom. Now return!"** Ash said. The audience was enthralled. They had realized that Ash was going to use every legendary Pokémon he had for this battle. **"Now, go Ho-oh!"** Now it was time for the rainbow colored fire bird to take down the small bird.

"Unfezant, Aerial Ace!" Trip said. Unfezant dove toward Ho-oh, but it didn't get very close.

**"Ho-oh, Sacred Fire!"** Ash commanded. Once again, Ho-oh launched a blast of rainbow fire. Unfezant shrieked in pain, and when the fire cleared out Unfezant was on his back. **"Great battling Ho-oh, now, return." **Trip knew that Ash would choose another legendary Pokémon, he just couldn't figure out which one. **"Go, Reshiram,"** Ash called out.

"Holy shit, he's going to end with Yveltal. Well, I won't go down without a fight," Trip thought. He grabbed a Pokéball and threw it out. "Go, Jellicent!" Trip called out. This Pokémon may help.

**"You seriously think that this Jellicent has a chance to beat Reshiram? I will destroy you. Reshiram, use Blue Flare!"** Ash commanded. The blue flame exploded, illuminating the entire stadium with a brilliant blue light as it exploded around Jellicent. The field was covered in blue fire for a few seconds. The fire cleared and Jellicent had already fainted. **"Great shot Reshiram; now return please. Trip, I have one more legendary Pokémon left. I think you already know who this is. I know your Serperior knew him well."** Trip was sweating terribly. He knew what was coming.

"Go, Scolipede!" Trip called. Ash was surprised, he didn't know when Trip got this Scolipede, but he also didn't really care.

**"Come forth, my destroyer. Yveltal!"** Now, another aura filled the area as the devilish flying Pokémon appeared with its otherworldly shriek. **"Use Phantom Force!"** Ash commanded. Paul breathed a sigh of relief. Ash was not going to kill his Scolipede, he was going to just beat it down. Yveltal was fast as it disappeared through a dark portal just as it reappeared directly behind Scolipede, where both of its clawed wings slashed Scolipede in the back. The gigantic centipede flew forward and collapsed. The battle was over already, and Trip had been devastated. Ash had Yveltal return to its Pokéball. With that, the clouds dissipated, and Ash's aura went with it.

POV Change: Trip

"Return Scolipede!" Trip said as he fell to his knees. "Damn it all, how did I lose to such a weak trainer?" he yelled.

**"It's quite simple really," **Ash said having clearly heard Trip. **"You see, when you betrayed me, I may have been weak, but I worked hard to overcome that weakness for over ten years. I took almost no days of rest, and I was willing to do whatever it took to get my revenge. So I am not weak. I am the strongest trainer in the history of the world, and the Chosen One of Arceus, and I am an Aura Guardian. Now, meet me by your Serperior's statue in a few minutes. I have something for you."**

For some reason Trip felt compelled to do as Ash told him to do. In a few minutes, Trip was standing next to the statue of his Serperior with his hand resting on his Pokémon's snout. Ash was standing in front of the bench. "So, I assume that you are going to restore Serperior, right?"

**"No."**

"No? What do you mean? You restored the Pokémon of all those who lost to you."

**"Also wrong. I restored the Pokémon of those who have truly apologized and have meant it with all their being. I can tell that you will never feel this way. You see Trip; it has come to my attention that you were the one who orchestrated the entire betrayal. Allow me to tell you right now that Arceus has deemed you to be unworthy to live. Therefore, I call forth Yveltal!"** Ash said as Yveltal came out of his Pokéball. **"Yveltal, use Oblivion Wing on Trip, carry out the will of Arceus!"** Yveltal reared back and unleashed the red and black beam from its chest. Trip felt the beam hit him, and suddenly it felt like he was drifting away from his body and into Yveltal's chest. Just as he hit Yveltal's body, Trip was transported to a place where all he heard was wails and shrieks of pain, most were human, but there were some that sounded like Pokémon. That was when Trip realized where he was. This was Hell.

POV Change: Ash

Ash watched as Trip was transformed into stone. **"Yveltal, smash both Trip's and Serperior's statues. Neither shall be revived,"** Ash commanded. Yveltal swung its massive tail, smashing into Trip and Serperior, turning their statues into rubble. **"Great job. Now return."** Ash commanded. With that, he went back to the stadium. The awards ceremony would start soon, and he wanted to have Dawn on the stand with him.

Epilouge: 2 years later. POV: Paul

It had been two years since Paul had lost at the first Pokémon World Tournament. Since then, Ash had been named a Pokémon Master and had taken over for Charles Goodshow as the Pokémon League Commissioner. Not only that, Ash had gotten married to Dawn, and they seemed to be quite happy together living back in Pallet Town in Ash's old house. Ash had also repaired his friendships with everybody who had betrayed him. Brock had even been his best man, while Pikachu was the ring-bearer. Paul, however, had done nothing impressive other than retiring as a trainer. Today, he was back at the Indigo Plateau, sitting by his Torterra, who had not moved in over two years. "I'm sorry Torterra. I guess it's too late for you to be restored now. Isn't it?" he said sadly. That was when he heard a group of people approaching. He turned and saw Ash, Dawn, May, Max, Brock, Misty, Gary, Serena, Iris, Cilan, even Drew, and Tracey. All were laughing, but Paul noticed something about Dawn. She looked pregnant.

"Hey Ash," Paul said, although his voice showed just how depressed he really was.

"Paul, how have you been?" Ash said, not sure of what to say.

"I've been better. Why are you all here?" Paul asked.

"Well, the Indigo Conference will be starting soon. As the Commisioner, I have to be here, and everybody just tagged along," Ash said with a joking tone.

"Hmm," Paul said as he looked off in the distance.

"Paul, you know that it's not too late for Torterra to be restored," Ash said.

Paul looked at Ash suspiciously. "A few years ago, you said that you would never restore him. Why are you offering to do it now?"

"I've had a change of heart," Ash said as he laid his hand on Dawn's growing belly and she beamed toward him with a dazzling smile. "And I can clearly see that you deeply regret not having repented long ago, I don't need aura to be able to see that."

"Yeah, you've hit the nail on the head. I don't know how, but you did," Paul said. "You know, I regret what happened more than you can imagine. I was a stuck up jackass, and the one person who showed me how to care for Pokémon paid the price for it. So, I'm saying this man-to-man: I am sorry for being an ass."

Ash smiled. "Apology accepted. Now, go Xerneas!" he called as he threw Xerneas's Pokéball. Xerneas appeared with it's typical heartwarming cry. "Xerneas, please restore Torterra." Xerneas did as it was asked and Torterra was reanimated. It looked really confused, but when Paul came up to his first Pokémon, he did what nobody expected. He broke into tears at the sight of his first Pokémon finally restored to life. "Now, remember Paul, the same rules still apply. You have to earn my friendship back." With that, Ash took Dawn by the waist and they departed.

"Thanks Ash, I will never forget this," Paul said.

POV Change: Ash

"Well, Mr. Ketchum, that may have been worthy of being a movie-ending," Dawn said.

"Thank you, Mrs. Ketchum," Ash said with a grin to his wife. He then leaned in and kissed her on the lips. "It seems all of our true friends have returned to their senses."

Dawn smiled. She had learned how to read Ash's emotions like a book, and ever since the end of the tournament, he had slowly been relieved of his pain and anger. Now, she could see that the last of it had vanished. Ash Ketchum had returned in full (except for his eating habits).

**So that's it. Ash is finally a Pokémon Master, he's married to Dawn, and he has a kid on the way. Please let me know how you liked this story and suggest what I should do for the next story. Thank you for reading the entire story**


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